An Assessment of the Collective Leadership System in Yugoslavia since the Death of Tito

Abstract

Until President Tito's death on 4 May 1980, his great prestige and powerful personality enabled Yugoslavs to gloss over difficult problems: divisive ethnic disputes, a collapsing economy, and, most importantly, the question of his successor. But now that the Tito era has ended, the Yugoslavs must confront the issues not only of the fate of Tito's political and economic programs, but also the direction of the collective leadership; Yugoslavia's relations with the Soviet Union and the nonaligned movement; and internal and external dissent. The key to formulating effective U.S. bilateral relations with a changing Yugoslavia, will be the understanding of its direction. This paper addresses Yugoslavia's problems and suggests a possible answer to the question: What direction is Yugoslavia taking after Tito?