Constructing Yugoslavia - (Europe in Transition: The NYU European Studies) by Vesna Drapac (Paperback)

About the Book

"Drapac charts the changing nature of the Yugoslav ideal, demonstrating why Yugoslavism was championed at different times, and by whom. The author also explores why successive attempts at forging a Yugoslav nation have failed, and why, despite this, the idea of a Yugoslav synthesis retained its appeal internationally even as the state was imploding"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Vesna Drapac provides an insightful survey of the changing nature of the Yugoslav ideal, demonstrating why Yugoslavism was championed at different times and by whom, and how it was constructed in the minds of outside observers. Covering the period from the 1850s to the death of Tito in 1980, Drapac situates Yugoslavia in the broader international context and examines its history within the more familiar story of Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

This approachable study also explores key themes and debates, including:

- The place of the nation-state within the worldview of nineteenth-century intellectuals
- The memory of war and commemorative practices in the interwar years
- Resistance and collaboration
- The nature of dictatorships
- Gender and citizenship
- Yugoslavia's role from the perspective of the 'Superpowers'

Drawing on a wide range of sources in order to recreate the atmosphere of the period, Constructing Yugoslavia traces the formation of popular perceptions of Yugoslavia and their impact on policy toward Yugoslavs. It is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the history of this fascinating nation, and its ultimate demise.

From the Back Cover

Vesna Drapac provides an insightful survey of the changing nature of the Yugoslav ideal, demonstrating why Yugoslavism was championed at different times and by whom, and how it was constructed in the minds of outside observers. Covering the period from the 1850s to the death of Tito in 1980, Drapac situates Yugoslavia in the broader international context and examines its history within the more familiar story of Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

This approachable study also explores key themes and debates, including:

- the place of the nation-state within the worldview of nineteenth-century intellectuals
- the memory of war and commemorative practices in the interwar years
- resistance and collaboration
- the nature of dictatorships
- gender and citizenship
- Yugoslavia's role from the perspective of the 'Superpowers'.

Drawing on a wide range of sources in order to recreate the atmosphere of the period, Constructing Yugoslavia traces the formation of popular perceptions of Yugoslavia and their impact on policy toward Yugoslavs. It is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the history of this fascinating nation, and its ultimate demise.

About the Author

VESNA DRAPAC is Associate Professor of History at the University of Adelaide, Australia.
VESNA DRAPAC is Associate Professor of History at the University of Adelaide, Australia.