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The Kingdom of Diversity and Paternalism: the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes/Yugoslavia, 1918-1941

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia came to life as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918 - a complex name that reflected the fact that no nationality group comprised even 40% of the population. The country was stitched together from two previous states plus parts of a third and the new country’s political elites were divided over whether to adopt a centralist or a federalist path of state building. The country’s first (Vidovdan) constitution, backed by predominantly Serbian political elites, prescribed a centralized structure for the state and was adopted in 1921. Some nations and their political representatives, such as Croats, considered the federal approach better because of the complex legal, cultural, religious, economic and other differences between the constituent parts of the country. Throughout the two decades of this kingdom, the political disaffection transformed into an inter-national conflict. On 6 January 1929, months after the assassination of Stjepan Radić, the charismatic leader of the Croatian Peasant Party, King Aleksandar abrogated the constitution and declared a dictatorship. The country’s name soon changed to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Political, national and economic problems, as well as those associated with low literacy and widespread corruption, did not help the internal consolidation. In 1934, King Aleksandar was assassinated in Marseilles, France. From then until 1941, the country was ruled by a regency headed by Prince Paul and discontent was rife, especially among Croats. In August 1939, a compromise was finally reached, establishing a large Banovina of Croatia in which Croats got a recognition of their self-governing rights in formally still a unitary state. Although Second World War broke out just days after this agreement was signed, Yugoslavia remained at peace until April 1941 when its territory was invaded and divided by Axis forces.

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes/Yugoslavia, Democracy-building, Fate of Minorities

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