engleski

Tito and Intellectuals - Collaboration and Support, 1945-1980

This paper analyzes the relationship between intellectuals and the Yugoslav communist leader Josip Broz Tito during his 35 years of totalitarian rule. Intellectuals are important in shaping ideologies, and their attitudes towards political leaders are important pillars of the legitimacy of each regime. In socialist Yugoslavia intellectuals also played an important role in preparing the society to accept the new regime. I analyze Tito's speeches, statements and actions that pertained to the intellectual sphere and conclude that Tito had a particular animosity towards intellectuals, primarily due to their free thinking, but that he treated them wisely, skillfully exploiting them to strengthen his own political position and charismatic authority. I also analyze works (in the arts, humanities and sciences), statements and especially personal letters that Yugoslav intellectuals sent to Tito on the basis of which I conclude that the vast majority of intellectuals, including even the most prominent, were highly influenced by Tito's authority and consciously built a cult of his personality. Almost every leading Yugoslav intellectual wrote positively about Tito, and that was important for the regime: domestically to strengthen its authority over the population and internationally to give an impression of the democratic and positive character of the regime. I discuss the motivation behind the apologetic attitude of Yugoslav intellectuals towards Tito and his regime, such as fear on the one hand or conviction on the other. Fear was understandable, since those who dared to criticize the regime faced repressive measures. Perhaps more important is the fact that many intellectuals supported the regime because they sincerely believed in communist ideals and the undisputed charismatic leader. Criticism of Tito's charismatic rule during his lifetime was very rare. It surfaced in the late 1960s and reappeared only after his death, during the last decade of socialist Yugoslavia.

Josip Broz Tito; intellectuals; collaboration; cooperation; Yugoslavia; communism

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