The League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) was the dominant political force in socialist Yugoslavia. It collapsed after its 14th extraordinary congress, which took place in Belgrade from 20 to 22 January 1990. Its local branches, organized on the level of the federal republics, were soon renamed into social democratic, socialist or refoundation parties and adopted new programs. Yet, despite its relevance as the moment of formal dissolution of the LCY, the 14th Extraordinary Congress of the LCY was in fact only a spectacle in which earlier developments were merely confirmed and brought to conclusion. The Slovenian delegation called for democratic reforms in Yugoslavia, including multi-party elections, appealed for the peaceful resolution of the unrest in Kosovo and proposed the reform of the LCY as an association of fully autonomous political parties.
About the project
The Belgrade office of the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung has decided to initiate a research project on some of the main socio-economic, political and cultural topics of relevance for the region of Southeast Europe. We believe that there is a serious lack of critical, left oriented analyses and case studies which would challenge the mainstream portrayal of the so called «transitional economies» or «transitional societies» as «corrupted», «inefficient», «nationalistic» or «backwarded», as is still common, both in the East and the West.
With this research project we want to provide relevant analyses and information on the region to interested critical researchers and left-wing oriented actors, local and international, as well as international scholars, journalists, antifascists, political activists and theoreticians.
Author: Iva Marčetić
Author: Nikola Kovačević
Authors: Igor Štiks/Krunoslav StojakovićOn the morning of 15 April 2009, students of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (Filozofski fakultet) in Zagreb interrupted classes to declare a blockade (blokada) of the premises. What began as just another student strike against the rampant commercialisation of higher education would become the day the Left was born—or rather re-born—in the post-socialist Balkans.