In this article, I analyze the debate triggered in Yugoslavia in 1984 by Jovan Mirić’s book The System and the Crisis. Drawing from a wide corpus of sources, mainly from the Yugoslav press and the intellectual production of the time, I argue that the episode sheds light on many aspects of the Yugoslav crisis. First, it shows the ultimate incapacity of certain actors of the Yugoslav political and intellectual elite to accept a compromise with those who pushed for reform. Second, the episode attests to the changes introduced by the crisis on the Yugoslav political and intellectual landscape, which allowed for an intellectual with no political prominence to attain unexpected influence over party politics overnight. Finally, I also argue that the Mirić affair shows that many in the Yugoslav political and intellectual world who could not be identified as nationalists were nevertheless anxious about the way in which authorities were dealing with the Serbian question, which invites us to leave aside black-and-white notions when considering the power of Serbian nationalism and its rise during the 1980s.
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24. Sednica CKSKJ: Kritička analiza funkcionisanja političkog sistema socialističkog samoupravlanja/Ostvarivanje ustavnog položaja radnika u raspolaganju i upravljanju dohotkom i sredstvima društvene reprodukcije [24th Session of the CKSKJ: Critical analysis of the functioning of the political system of self-management socialism / Realization of the constitutional position of workers in the disposition and administration of income and means of social reproduction]. Belgrade, Izdavački centar Komunist, 1986.
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All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
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In this article, I analyze the debate triggered in Yugoslavia in 1984 by Jovan Mirić’s book The System and the Crisis. Drawing from a wide corpus of sources, mainly from the Yugoslav press and the intellectual production of the time, I argue that the episode sheds light on many aspects of the Yugoslav crisis. First, it shows the ultimate incapacity of certain actors of the Yugoslav political and intellectual elite to accept a compromise with those who pushed for reform. Second, the episode attests to the changes introduced by the crisis on the Yugoslav political and intellectual landscape, which allowed for an intellectual with no political prominence to attain unexpected influence over party politics overnight. Finally, I also argue that the Mirić affair shows that many in the Yugoslav political and intellectual world who could not be identified as nationalists were nevertheless anxious about the way in which authorities were dealing with the Serbian question, which invites us to leave aside black-and-white notions when considering the power of Serbian nationalism and its rise during the 1980s.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 484 | 77 | 10 |
Full Text Views | 23 | 3 | 1 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 48 | 7 | 3 |