Savez komunista Hrvatske i Socijalistički savez radnog naroda Hrvatske u suton samoupravnog socijalizma (1982.-1990.)
The League of Communists of Croatia and the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Croatia in the Twilight of Self-Managing Socialism (1982-1990)

Summary/Abstract: The subject of this article is the relationship between the League of Communists of Croatia (SKJ) and the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Croatia (SSRN) during the final decade of Yugoslavia’s existence. Declaratively, the Socialist Alliance held a position above the League of Communists, while in reality it served as its political transmission. After the Twelfth Congress held in June 1982, the League of Communists of Yugoslavia repeatedly initiated discussions and initiatives to overcome the marginalisation of the Socialist Alliance, seeking to transform it into a front of all organised socialist forces mobilised toward the further development of self-management. The Socialist Alliance was required to monitor and oversee the work of government bodies, the organs of self-managing organisations and communities, as well as prominent officials. These efforts were not fulfilled, and the sectarian attitude – as the marginalisation of the SSRN was called – remained dominant. For much of the decade, discussions focused on the necessity of overcoming the transmission relationship and realising the constitutional role of the Socialist Alliance. However, there were no concrete shifts in practice, as the League of Communists lacked the will for such changes. As of the spring of 1988 and the announcement of the League of Communists’ reformist direction, the debate on the future of the Socialist Alliance initially subsided, only to reopen as part of a process moving toward democratisation and the introduction of a multi-party system. This debate raised the question of the Socialist Alliance’s actual position and future, as it was treated as an ‘organisation of organisations’ that gathered other parties – modelled after the former People’s Front from the end of World War II and the post-war period. The Socialist Alliance was expected to organise the elections and subsequently address the question of its own status, to which its leadership opposed, as they believed that that would be the end of the organisation. The issue was resolved by transforming the Socialist Alliance of Croatia from a broad front of organisation of organisations into a specific political party, which ran in the elections in the spring of 1990.

• Details
• Contents