Yugoslavia: Antagonism a Problem in Ethnic Diversity

Yugoslavia was created in 1918, at the end of World War I, which had been set in motion by the assassination four years earlier of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, which would become a part of Yugoslavia.

Since its creation, Yugoslavia has tried to overcome the problems caused by the diversity and antagonism of its people. Yugoslavs tend to think of themselves first as Bosnians, Croatians, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Serbs and Slovenes.

These are the six major “peoples of Yugoslavia” recognized by the state. Recognized as “nationalities of Yugoslavia” are Albanians, Bulgarians, Czechs, Hungarians, Italians, Romanians, Ruthenians, Slovaks and Turks, all of whom have certain rights.

There are three official languages, Serbo-Croatian, Slovene and Macedonian, but many others are spoken and taught. The Latin alphabet is used in some places, the Cyrillic in others. About half the people are Eastern Orthodox and about a third are Roman Catholic, the others being Muslim or Protestant.

After World War II, in an effort to ensure that these diverse groups all have a voice in government, what had been a constitutional monarchy was replaced by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is divided into six socialist republics--Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia--and two autonomous provinces, Kosovo and Vojvodina. The federal presidency consists of a representative from each of the republics and provinces, and each serves in turn as the chief executive.

Serbs, who account for about 36% of the population, which now totals more than 23 million, have been the primary political force in Yugoslavia, but rarely without the bitter opposition of the others.

Ethnic differences are most sharply drawn in the two autonomous provinces, which were separated from Serbia in 1946 as a means of dealing with the problems of a large Hungarian minority in one, Vojvodina, and an Albanian majority in the other, Kosovo.