Titoism IV: Tito – Hero or Anti-hero? – Balkan History

Today we look at Tito’s post-war regime in which the ideas of Titoism take shape, namely workers’ self-management and political non-alignment. And we ask: was Tito ultimately a hero or an anti-hero?

Be sure to support the show at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod to get your portrait drawn!

Become our patron on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deadideaspod

Time/place: Southeast Europe, 1945-1980  CE

Dead Idea: Titoism

For a video of the mercury mines at Idrija, Slovenia, go here

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Slovene lands mostly covered by what is labeled Carniola and Gorizia-Gradisca in far northwest

Main Sources

Biography International. (1998, Sep 2). “Josip Broz Tito: The Rebel Communist.” Biography International. Retrieved July 14, 2017, from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAq5dBBuiD4&t=313s

CIA. (1957). “Titoism and Soviet Communism: An Analysis and Comparison of Theory and Practice.” Declassified in Part, Sanitized. Retrieved July 14, 2017, from: https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80T00246A073800530001-4.pdf

Diljas, M. (1980). Tito: The Story from the Inside. Kojic, V., and Hayes, R., Trans. New York: Harcourt Brace.

Drnovsek, M. (n.d.). “The Causes for Emigration of Slovenes in the Last Two Centuries.” The Slovenian. Retrieved July 11, 2017, from: http://www.theslovenian.com/articles/drnovsek.htm

Enrico, S. (n.d.). “Boxing Arena Sound.” SoundBible. Sound clip used according to Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.  Retrieved August 1, 2017, from: http://soundbible.com/1559-Boxing-Arena-Sound.html

Fine. J. V. A. (2007). “Strongmen Can Be Beneficial: The Exceptional Case of Josip Broz Tito.” In: Fischer, B., Ed. (2007). Balkan Strongmen: Dictators and Authoritarian Rulers of Southeast Europe. West Lafayette, IA: Purdue University press.

Fischer, B., Ed. (2007). Balkan Strongmen: Dictators and Authoritarian Rulers of Southeast Europe. West Lafayette, IA: Purdue University press.

Flaherty, D. (2003, May). “Self-management and Requirements for Social Property: Lessons from Yugoslavia.” In: The Work of Karl Marx and the Challenges of the 21st Century Conference held in Havana.

Retrieved July 14, 2017, from: http://www.nodo50.org/cubasigloXXI/congreso/flaherty_15abr03.pdf

Horvat, B., Markovic, M, Supek, R. (1975). Self-governing Socialism, Vol. 1 & 2. New York: International Arts and Sciences Press, Inc.

Kardelj, E. (1956, July). “Evolution in Jugoslavia.” Foreign Affairs: p. 580-602.

Laibach. (n.d.). “Biography.” Laibach. Retrieved July 14, 2017, from: http://www.laibach.org/bio/

Mrak, M., Rojeć, M., and Silva-Jáuregui, C. (2004). Slovenia: From Yugoslavia to the European Union. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

NSK State. (n.d.). NSK State. Retrieved July 14, 2017, from: https://passport.nsk.si/en/

Patterson, P. H. (2013). “Bought and Sold: Living and Losing the Good Life in Socialist Yugoslavia.” Youtube. Retrieved July 14, 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbjAt9Z-pFo

Plut-Pregelj, L., and Rogel, C. (1996). Historical Dictionary of Slovenia. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

Repe, Božo. (1992). Das Besondere am “Titoismus” – seine Gewaltherrschaft und sein Zerfall. Aufrisse, 13, 3 “Flammenzeichen Jugoslawien”.

RSFSR. (2016). “Josip Broz Tito’s Funeral 8 May 1980 Yugoslavia – Anthem & The Internationale.” Youtube. Retrieved July 14, 2017, from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4EmqgwRmtk

Savli, J., Bor, M., Tomazić, I. (1996). Veneti: First Builders of European Community: Tracing the History and Language of the Early Ancestors of the Slovenes. Anton Skerbinc.

Slovenski Magazin. (2017, May 19). Video. RTV 4. Retrieved July 14, 2017, from: http://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/slovenski-magazin/174472394

Tito, J. B. (1979). Non-alignment: The Conscience and Future of Mankind. Belgrade: Socialist Thought and Practice.

Tito, J. B. (2013). The Selected Works of Josip Broz Tito. New York: Prism Key Press.

Velikonja, M. (2008). Titostalgia: A Study of Nostalgia for Josip Broz. Vuković, O., Trans. Ljubljana: Peace Institute.

Zukin, S. (1975). Beyond Marx and Tito: Theory and Practice in Yugoslav Socialism. New York: Cambridge University press.

Maps, pics, references, and more at http://www.deadideas.net. Music and graphic design by Rachel Westhoff.

2 thoughts on “Titoism IV: Tito – Hero or Anti-hero? – Balkan History

  1. Dear Mr Newberg,

    First I would like to compliment you for your excellent podcasts, I very much enjoyed listening to them.

    I would, however, like to remark that the potica pictured in your photo slideshow is dead wrong. Potica is a sweet made of leaven dough and filling, rolled up into a loaf. The filling can be made of a variety. from ground nuts of any kind, poppies, raisins, tarragon and cottage cheese, coconut, there are even savoury varieties with lard scraps or salty butter, but the “vanilla” flavour of potica in walnut.

    Google image search for potica will give you a nice variety of shapes and flavours. What your image shows is a sweet made of unleaven pastry, which would locally be called štrudl or zavitek (SHTROO-dul or zuh-VEE-teck), which is another popular sweet around here.

    Greetings from Slovenia.

    1. Hi Rok. Glad you enjoyed the series! The potica my family makes is unleavened and looks like that, but it wouldn’t be the first time our family traditions reflected a divergent variation. I’ve removed the photo. Thanks for your comment!

Leave a Reply