Long Reads: The Life and Death of Yugoslavia w/ Catherine Samary (Part 2)

Jacobin Radio · May 4, 2023 · 57m

In May 1980, Josip Tito died after ruling Yugoslavia for more than three decades. In his absence, the Yugoslav League of Communists put in place a collective, power-sharing model. A politician from each of the country’s national units would take their turn as the head of state. But by the early 90s, Yugoslavia was on the brink of collapse. The rise of two nationalist leaders, Slobodan Milošević of Serbia and Croatia’s Franjo Tuđman, was followed by the outbreak of civil war.

Catherine Samary, historian of the Balkans and author of several books including Yugoslavia Dismembered, joins Long…