THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEORY OF INTEGRAL YUGOSLAVISM: А NEW NATION FOR A NEW STATE
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEORY OF INTEGRAL YUGOSLAVISM: А NEW NATION FOR A NEW STATE

Summary/Abstract: In this paper, we elaborate on the origins and the emergence of the ideology of integral Yugoslavism in the territories of the Habsburg Monarchy during the 19th century, as well as the role this political theory and its advocates had in pre-war, war and post-war periods in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of SCS) and its neighbouring countries. Devised in the circles of radicalised young intellectuals, this theory about the existence of a single and unique Yugoslav nation played a significant role in the outbreak of the First World War, the creation of the Kingdom of SCS and a series of cross-border conflicts with neighbouring countries. Originating in the realpolitik – the need for Serbs and Croats to cooperate in the struggle for the political emancipation of the South Slavic peoples in the Danubian Monarchy – this theory would eventually, with the help of pseudo-historical constructs, turn into a myth about a single and unique Yugoslav nation that existed on the territories stretching from Szeged to Thessaloniki, and from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea. The focus of attention in this paper is on the reconstruction of the origins and the emergence of the theory of integral Yugoslavism, its role in the political life of the Kingdom of SCS, and the impact it had on shaping the public attitude towards neighbouring countries.

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