The Demise of Yugoslavia

A Political Memoir
Author: 
ISBN: 
978-963-9241-71-8
Out of print
ISBN: 
978-963-9241-81-7
cloth
$111.00 / €95.00 / £90.00
Publication date: 
2004
422 pages

A political memoir by Stipe Mesic, the last president of the former Yugoslav Federation, and key witness to the chain of events that would send the Balkan empire toppling, aided by notable figures like Slobodan Miloševic.

Formed in the aftermath of WWI, Yugoslavia was founded as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes ("three tribes of the same people"). But in the early 1990s, following a series of violent conflicts on Slovenian and Croatian soil, the two republics successfully succeeded from Yugoslavia, which would later be followed by Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia.

Mesic was member, later head of the Presidency of the Yugoslav Federation from August 1990. His memoir details an intricately woven storyline, which analyzes events, personalities and motivations inside Yugoslavia and its former nations, as well as in the international arena. The narrative is rich with excerpts from Mesic's personal diaries during times of heated conflict and bloodshed. Extensive notes and a short chronology assist the interested reader and scholar in disentangling the complicated plot.

After years of relative political passivity, Mesic was elected independent Croatia's second president in 2000, following the death of former President Franjo Tudman.

Prologue
Stipe Mesić

The Headless State
May 15–June 27, 1991

Sovereign, Independent Croatia
May 28–June 30, 1991

Belated Election of the Constitutional President
July 1–4, 1991

The Joint Brijuni Declaration
July 5–12, 1991

Futile Cries for Peace
July 13–August 6, 1991

Serbia Angry at the World
August 7–22, 1991

EC Declaration: Serbia and YPA as Aggressors
August 23–September 2, 1991

Peace Conference at The Hauge
September 3–7, 1991

Army out of Control
September 8–22, 1991

A Criminal Army Loses Its State
September 23–October 10, 1991

Dubrovnik: An Estuary of Conscience
October 11–November 3, 1991

Ravaged Yugoslavia Formally Disappears
November 4–December 5, 1991

Chronology of Events

"Mesic's memoirs provide a valuable insider's story of the collapse of the SFRY. The amount of detail, the first-hand account of events and the portrayal of the key personalities involved in the political struggles of the time make this an essential contribution to understanding how and why the SFRY disintegrated in 1991."