Position of minorities in Yugoslavia(s)

Abstract

An important part of Yugoslavia's identity and democratic capacity, along with other features, was the position of persons belonging to minority communities. This Paper will try to establish what was the Yugoslav's minority policy like in various periods of its existence. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia had to accept the international commitments relating to the protection of minorities, but in practice it treated minorities selectively. In the socialist Yugoslavia, equalising the position of the persons belonging to national minorities, i.e. equal position of nations ('narodi') and nationalities ('narodnosti') was a part of the general state policy. Issues faced by the FR Yugoslavia (economic crisis, refugees, separatism of the Albanians in KiM, ethnic tensions, bombing of the country, etc.) reduced the level of protection of minorities and undermined the country's entire minority policy.

Važan deo identiteta, ali i demokratskog kapaciteta Jugoslavije, pored brojnih drugih obeležja, bilo je i pitanje položaja pripadnika manjinskih zajednica. Kraljevina Jugoslavija je morala da prihvati međunarodne obaveze o zaštiti manjina, ali je imala selektivan odnos prema manjinama. Za socijalističku Jugoslaviju izjednačavanje položaja pripadnika nacionalnih manjina, tj. narodnosti sa narodima bio je deo državne politike. Problemi sa kojima se SR Jugoslavija suočavala (ekonomska kriza, izbeglice, separatizam Albanaca na KiM, etničke tenzije, bombardovanje zemlje i dr.) umanjili su nivo zaštite manjina i doveli u pitanje celokupnu manjinsku politiku države.