Projects / Programmes
Position and Role of Slovenia in the Yugoslav State after World War II (1945-1991)
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.01.00 |
Humanities |
Historiography |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H271 |
Humanities |
Political history |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 6.01 |
Humanities |
History and Archaeology |
Slovenia, Yugoslavia, state, sovereignty, authority, constitution, federation, politics, economic policy, national question, national economy, democracy, attainment of independence, economic reform, market economy, economic crisis, cultural policy, education, migrations, living standard, sports, clubs, sports disciplines, public opinion
Researchers (10)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
After World War II the Slovenian territory became a federal unit (republic) with elements of statehood and sovereignty within the federal system of the Yugoslav state. This nevertheless had limited importance with regard to the Federal Constitution of 1946, since the constitutional order assigned the most important legislative, executive and administrative powers to the federal bodies. The jurisdiction of the republics started increasing with the political and constitutional changes in the 1950s and 1960s. However, the centralist aspirations in the economic policy and political decision-making remained strong, even strengthening in the 1970s.
This research will analyse the Slovenian situation during the individual constitutional periods as well as the policies of the republican and federal bodies and the Communist Party/League of Communists. We will also attempt to establish how the federal economic policy and certain economic, cultural and social circumstances in the state influenced the Slovenian economic and social development. We will pay special attention to the Slovenian politicians' influence on the federal policy and the decisions of the federal political leadership in Belgrade, as Slovenian politicians held important functions in the federal bodies. Thus the research will shed light on the role of E. Kardelj, B. Kidrič, B. Kraigher and other Slovenian politicians in the federal bodies, their influence on the political, economic and social modernisation and their political practices. It will also include a detailed presentation of Slovenian economic development, economic cooperation with other republics, endeavours of Slovenian politicians to introduce market relations in the state and tendencies for the Slovenian economic separation in the second half of the 1980s.
Issues related to the functioning of the state administration, judiciary, security bodies and military defence system will represent a specific research subject, and we will also focus on the attitude of Slovenian politicians and public towards the national question. Namely, if until World War II certain individuals had still been considering the potential national fusion with other Yugoslav nations, World War II finally put an end to the Slovenian flirtation with Yugoslav integralism. The national-liberation orientation of the Liberation Front and anti-occupation resistance undeniably played an important role with regard to this issue. The socialist ideologists attempted to combine the inherited conception of a small nation, lacking any real historical tradition, with Marxist and socialist ideas, claiming that national emancipation was supposedly only possible in a society ruled by the working class. The Slovenian political elites were characterised by their constant search for balance between what was national (Slovenian) and what was common (Yugoslav). The school and cultural policy also caused severe disputes between the republican and federal authorities. According to the Constitution, these were under the jurisdiction of individual republics, but Belgrade kept trying to control them centrally (the 1950s school reform, vocationally-oriented education, common core curricula). The research will also look at the living standard in Slovenia in the individual post-war periods, as all this time, especially during the 1960s and 1970s, Slovenia deviated from the Yugoslav average. We will also bring the attention to the demographic development, which was different than in the rest of Yugoslavia (decreasing birth rate and increasing immigration rate). A special part of the research will be dedicated to sports, sports activities and the achievements of the Slovenian athletes. Finally we will also explore the public opinion and look at how the attitude towards Yugoslavia was changing in the eye of the public.
The goal of the project is to carry out a complex and unprecedented research of the various aspects of the Slovenian life within the socialist Yugoslavia.
Significance for science
In the Slovenian public as well as in our historiography we still face intense disagreements when discussing the nature of the Yugoslav political system, established by the communists in accordance with their political doctrine, and when considering the Slovenian position in Yugoslavia after World War II. The main problem of all these debates and discord is that the opinions are not based on an in depth analysis of various aspects of the past reality. Instead they focus predominantly on the ideological and political external dimensions. One of the main contradictions of the Yugoslav society from the mid 1960s was its formal outward openness in comparison to its still exclusive and authoritarian internal political ideological regime, and its actual orientation towards consumption, which was supposedly an integral part of the communism/socialism with a "human face" as well as its constant political ideological mobilisation. The purpose of the project group's research was to delve deeper into the causes and consequences of the Slovenian historical development after World War II, in the time when it was a full member of the Yugoslav state. Therefore the research focused, on one hand, on the actual economic circumstances and relations as well as on the living standard of the population as an indicator of these circumstances and relations, and on the other hand also on the public opinion, which – in its basic wishes and aspirations – differed from the policies of the political elites. Only by understanding everything that influenced the position and role of Slovenia in Yugoslavia, we can establish a more politically balanced relationship to our recent past. The results of the research carried out in the context of our project have contributed to a more balanced outlook. The empiric, positivistic research of all sorts of historical materials represented the methodological foundation of the project, since without that it is not even possible to envision how to transcend the hasty and generalised politically and ideologically influenced opinions about the recent past. This represents a vital contribution of our project to the development of historiography as a science. In the Slovenian historiography this project, using the scientific historiography methodology (and techniques), has shed light on the issue of the Slovenian position in Yugoslavia in a broad and complex manner. When they carried out the project, the researchers strived to ensure the interdisciplinary integration as well as take into account the realisations of other scientific disciplines – social sciences, economy, anthropology, and sciences exploring the cultural policies and creativity. With this project historiography has taken a step towards overcoming the so called factographic historicism, which the researchers from other social sciences and humanities frequently reject a priori, even though historiography cannot do without it. The findings or conclusions of this project bring the recent past (most of us have experienced it) into an objective confrontation with the concrete historical reality. With this research historiography has made a significant contribution to the development of the historiography of the recent past, where certain processes have just been concluded. Therefore research should have a clear attitude to these processes as well as to the knowledge of the events, developments and persons which took part in the historical processes or influenced them.
Significance for the country
To know the facts from the past is one of the basic tasks or missions of scientific historiography. The facts about the development in the past represent the vital foundations for understanding the present as well as the resulting progress. The "present" as well as future may be formed on the basis of the knowledge of one's own historical development, in view of the facts determining and defining this progress. When we think about the position and particularly the role of Slovenia in the Yugoslav state, in the context of which Slovenians existed for 73 years (46 of these in the situation where Slovenia was a state or had many characteristics of a state), we should be aware of the real image of Slovenians and their state in the context of the federal Yugoslavia, based on scientific historiographic research. Namely, shedding light on the role of Slovenians in Yugoslavia in the period from 1945 to 1991 is of key importance for understanding the contemporary Slovenian history as well as the development of Slovenia after 1991. In view of its basic establishments and confirmations (as well as the rejection of some generalised and approximate estimates), the research about the position and role of Slovenia in Yugoslavia (1945-1991) should be seen as a contribution to the presentation and clarification of the historical basis for the Slovenian state today. The Slovenian development has roots in its past, which needs to be known (and acknowledged). In order to ensure the development, the ideological political debates and disputes with regard to our recent past must be transcended and reoriented towards the actual facts and data. This research and its results contribute to that, which is also of significant importance for the Slovenian development.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2010,
2011,
2012,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2010,
2011,
2012,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
