Yugoslavia's Significance for the West,
Abstract
We should distinguish Western interest in developments in Yugoslavia and Western Interests (in the sense of security interests) in that country, Interest in Yugoslavia, especially in the United States, has derived in part from ethnic ties. Yugoslavia's system of 'self management' has aroused a certain interest. But fundamentally the Western interest n Yugoslavia is derived from geopolitics--from the fact the Yugoslavia has been a heretical Communist state. If Yugoslavia is to overcome its current economic problems, in addition to implementing internal reforms it will need substantial additional Western economic assistance (beyond the substantial aid package organized at the initiative of the Reagan Administration this past year). Such assistance is not easily extended, given Western economic problems and competing international demands. Nor can it be extended indefinitely or isolated from necessary domestic reforms. I believe, nonetheless, that given the importance to Western security interests of a Yugoslavia independent of the USSR and relatively cohesive internally, such assistance from the major Western countries is only a sensible policy. Economic relief for Yugoslavia ought to come far ahead of any economic concessions to the East European countries of the Soviet bloc, and ahead of assistance to a member of non-European countries.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA152749
Entities
People
- A. R. Johnson
Organizations
- RAND Corporation