Yugoslavism and Yugoslavia Since the late 18th century, when traditional European ethnic affiliations started to mature into modern ethnic identities, there have been numerous attempts to define a common
South Slavic ethnic identity. The word
Yugoslav, meaning "South Slavic", was first used by
Josip Juraj Strossmayer in 1849. The first modern iteration of Yugoslavism was the
Illyrian movement in
Habsburg Croatia. It identified South Slavs with ancient
Illyrians and sought to construct a common language based on the
Shtokavian dialect. The movement was led by
Ljudevit Gaj, whose
Latin alphabet became one of two official scripts used for the
Serbo-Croatian language.
Jovan Cvijić, in his article
The Bases of Yugoslav Civilization, developed the idea of a unified Yugoslav culture and stated that "New qualities that until now have been expressed but weakly will appear. An amalgamation of the most fertile qualities of our three tribes [Serbs, Croats, Slovenes] will come forth every more strongly, and thus will be constructed the type of single Yugoslav civilization-the final and most important goal of our country." On 28 June 1914,
Gavrilo Princip shot and killed
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife, in Sarajevo. Princip was a member of
Young Bosnia, a group whose aims included the unification of the Yugoslavs and independence from
Austria-Hungary. The
assassination in Sarajevo set into motion a series of
fast-moving events that eventually escalated into
full-scale war. After his capture, during his trial, he stated "I am a Yugoslav nationalist, aiming for the unification of all Yugoslavs, and I do not care what form of state, but it must be free from Austria." In June–July 1917, the
Yugoslav Committee met with the
Serbian Government in
Corfu and on 20 July the
Corfu Declaration that laid the foundation for the post-war state was issued. The preamble stated that the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes were "the same by blood, by language, by the feelings of their unity, by the continuity and integrity of the territory which they inhabit undivided, and by the common vital interests of their national survival and manifold development of their moral and material life." The state was created as the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, a constitutional monarchy under the
Karađorđević dynasty. The term "Yugoslavs" was used to refer to all of its inhabitants, but particularly to those of South Slavic ethnicity. Some Croatian nationalists viewed the Serb plurality and Serbian royal family as hegemonic. Eventually, a conflict of interest sparked among the Yugoslav peoples. In 1929,
King Alexander sought to resolve a deep political crisis brought on by ethnic tensions by assuming dictatorial powers in the
6 January Dictatorship, renaming the country "Kingdom of Yugoslavia", and officially pronouncing that there is one single Yugoslav nation with three tribes. The Yugoslav ethnic designation was thus imposed for a period of time on all South Slavs in Yugoslavia. Changes in Yugoslav politics after King Alexander's death in 1934 brought an end to this policy, but the designation continued to be used by some people. Philosopher
Vladimir Dvorniković advocated the establishment of a Yugoslav ethnicity in his 1939 book entitled "The
Characterology of the Yugoslavs". His views included eugenics and cultural blending to create one, strong Yugoslav nation.
Self-identification in Yugoslavia Unitary policies implemented by the authorities of the early 20th century
Kingdom of Yugoslavia aimed at creating a single Yugoslav ethnic identity that speaks one
South Slavic language were met with heavy resistance by majorities of the country's citizens. Those policies and attempts at concentration of power within the ruling Serbian royal dynasty, the
Karađorđevićs, were interpreted by opponents of Yugoslav unitarism and
Serbian nationalism as gradual
Serbianization of Yugoslavia's non-Serb population. After the country was liberated from
Axis occupiers in the
World War II in Yugoslavia by the
Yugoslav Partisans, the newly established
socialist Yugoslavia was instead organized as a federation. The ruling
League of Communists of Yugoslavia was ideologically opposed to ethnic unitarism that was promoted under former royal hegemony, instead recognizing and promoting ethnic diversity and social
Yugoslavism within the notion of "
brotherhood and unity" between nations and national minorities of Yugoslavia. Traditional ethnic identities again became the primary ethnic designations used by most inhabitants of Yugoslavia which remained the case until the country's dissolution in the early 1990s.
Josip Broz Tito expressed his desire for an undivided Yugoslav ethnicity to develop naturally when he stated, "I would like to live to see the day when Yugoslavia would become amalgamated into a firm community, when she would no longer be a formal community but a community of a single Yugoslav nation." Yugoslav censuses reflected Tito's ideal, with "Yugoslav" being an available identification for both ethnicity and nationality. In general, the Yugoslav identity was more common in the multiethnic regions of the country, i.e. the more multiethnic the constituent republic, the higher the percentage; therefore the highest were in Croatia, Montenegro, Central Serbia, Vojvodina, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the lowest were in Slovenia, Macedonia, and Kosovo. The 1971 census recorded 273,077 Yugoslavs, or 1.33% of the total population. The 1981 census, a year after the death of Tito, recorded a record number of 1,216,463 or 5.4% Yugoslavs. The Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1990 ratified a Presidency of seven members. One of the seven was to be elected among/by the republic's Yugoslavs, thereby introducing the Yugoslavs next to
ethnic Muslims, Serbs and Croats into the Constitutional framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina although on an inferior level. However, because of the
Bosnian War that erupted in 1992, this Constitution was short-lived and unrealized. • Approximately 5% of the population of
Montenegro also declared themselves Yugoslav in the same census. • The 1981 census showed that Yugoslavs made up around 8.2% of the population in
Croatia, this being the highest ever percentage of
Yugoslavs within a constituent republic's borders. The percentage was the highest in multiethnic regions and cities with large non-Croatian population and among those of mixed ancestry. The 1991 census data indicated that the number of Yugoslavs had dropped to 2% of the population in Croatia. • The autonomous region of
Vojvodina, marked by its traditionally multiethnic make-up, recorded a similar percentage as Croatia at the 1981 census, with ~8% of its 2 million inhabitants declaring themselves Yugoslav. Just before and after the
dissolution of Yugoslavia, most Yugoslavs reverted to their ethnic and regional identities. ==Successor states==