Balance of Threat Theory and the Case of Yugoslavia, 1943 - 1964
Abstract
Since 1945 Yugoslavia has often occupied a unique, prominent, and sometimes unwanted, place on the world stage. The role this country has played and the amount of attention it received was quite often out of proportion to the modest resources and power Yugoslavia possessed. This is especially true of the period 1945 1964 when Yugoslavia played a significant role in Cold War international politics. Historically this story is intriguing for a number of reasons. Yugoslavia was the first state after the Soviet Union to impose communism on itself rather than having communism imposed on it by outside forces. It was the only such state in Eastern Europe throughout the communist period, and the only such state in the Soviet camp until the People's Republic of China was declared in 1949. From 1945 until 1948 Yugoslavia pursued an aggressive internationalist foreign policy that one would expect of a zealous communist state loyal to the Soviet center. "The Yugoslav regime in 1945 was more pro-Russian than any other Communist-dominated government in Eastern Europe."2 But then in 1948 it was kicked out of the socialist brotherhood much to the surprise of Western observers and policy-makers. These same policy-makers quickly grasped the significance of this event, and began to help Yugoslavia militarily and economically. The Soviet Union was extremely aggressive toward Yugoslavia, and used all measures short of war in an attempt to oust the Yugoslavian leadership. Once Stalin died, relations between the two states improved, but only for a short period. Meanwhile, Yugoslavia's relations with the West deteriorated, although not as much as with the Soviet Union, and the small Balkan state began to associate more and more with third world states.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA375690
Entities
People
- Gregory J. Cook
Organizations
- University of Virginia