Does the war of memories and remembrances in the former Yugoslavia can come to an end and how, was the central question of the lecture “ The (Im)possibility of Speaking about Yugoslavia: The Croatian Case” by Zagreb historian Branimir Janković.
In Slovenia, partisan songs have been declared part of cultural heritage, in Serbia there is a Museum of Yugoslavia, and in Croatia many are seeking a ban of the red star and the Yugoslav flag, while the constitution prohibits any form of unification with neighboring states. How can we explain so many differences in the states that emerged from Yugoslavia?
Although at first sight the wars, which followed the break-up of the common state, seem to be the main explanation for it, Janković showed that the causes for these differences are multiple and require a much broader historical perspective. Thus, in his opinion, it is necessary to take into account World War II and the asymmetry of memory regarding that period, as well as the long-term consequences of that asymmetry. Further, the attitude towards Yugoslavia is also determined by the perception whether the former republics of the SFRY see themselves as losers or winners, and whether they developed the construction of national identity or independence within the Yugoslav state framework or against it.
Finally, Janković believes that wars and traumas strongly influence the formation of a dominant collective identity, which does not tolerate the equality of different memories. In this regard, in a focus on Croatia, he compared the Yugoslav and conservative national ideologies within Croatia. The former held that Yugoslavism and Croatianism were not incompatible, while the latter held that they were incompatible; since the latter had prevailed in the meantime, speaking about Yugoslavia became a taboo in Croatia and turned into a disqualifying label.
Finally, Janković referred to new discourses within historiography that reject the thesis of the backwardness of multiethnic empires and states in contrast to the seemingly unquestionable progressiveness of national states, and thus offered an additional aspect within which Yugoslavia should be scholarly viewed.
The lecture took place on 18 December 2024 as part of the lecture series Regional tea party “Yugoslavia”, organized by the Academic Network for Cooperation in Southeast Europe in cooperation with the Institute of Social Sciences. It was moderated by Irena Ristić (IDN).
