As part of the Regional Tea Party lecture series on October 12 at 11:30 Prof. Dr. Dejan Jović will speak about the legacy of the Yugoslav left. The title of the online presentation is “Josip Broz Tito and the ruling left in Yugoslavia (1945-1991): Legacy, successes, failures”.
Josip Broz Tito was the most prominent name of the left in Yugoslavia where the Communist Party of Yugoslavia/The League of Communists of Yugoslavia ruled from 1945 to 1991. In his presentation, Dejan Jović will analyze what Tito and his comrades (revolutionaries, politicians) gave to the Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav left, as well as to the left in a global context. What remains of Tito’s achievements, what is his legacy and to what extent is it relevant today? Is it possible to step out of the framework imposed by the political class in the post-Yugoslav countries, that started by going on distance from the legacy of Yugoslav socialism, in order to evaluate Tito’s contribution critically and without prejudice?
Despite today’s popular thesis that nothing remains of Tito’s works, Dejan Jović will defend the thesis that some achievements are still relevant and even decisive for contemporary politics in the Western Balkans. The elements of the vision, but also the practices designed and developed within the framework of Tito’s project, especially from 1945 to 1967, will be pointed out in particular, in order to seek an answer to the question of whether they can be of any use to the new generation of the left.
Dejan Jović is professor of international relations at the University of Zagreb and visiting professor at the University of Belgrade. He is the author of the books Yugoslavia: A state that withered away (2003), War and myth: The politics of identity in contemporary Croatia (2017), and Introduction to Yugoslavia, which is in print and expected to be released in October 2023. He also edited four books in the field of theories of international relations, and was one of the editors of Slobodan Milošević: road to power (2008). He was the editor-in-chief of the journal Politička misao, and is now the editor-in-chief of Tragovi: Journal for Serbian and Croatian topics. He is currently working on a book about critical intelligence after socialism.
The lecture is part of the Regional party lecture series, this year taking place under the title “Left”, organized by the IDN in cooperation with the Academic Network for Cooperation in Southeastern Europe. The moderator will be Irena Ristić.
The lecture will be broadcasted live via Zoom:
https://zoom.us/j/92662257679?pwd=ZnlFTFRPbDUwNnlvenRkejh4M3gzQT09
Meeting ID: 926 6225 7679
Passcode: 217760
