La Jugoslavia fra riforme, crisi e rigetto. Perché la tragedia è diventata inevitabile

The chapter reconstructs the most relevant events of the Yugoslav history since the Tito’s death. In particular, the author describes in details the social and economic changes that occurred during the 1970s when Tito was still alive. Then, he starts analyzing the reasons which have rapidly led the federation into a deep economic and financial crisis, their impact on the self-management system, and the gradual societal transformation from the pluralism of interests to a governance that was substantially ineffective despite the ethno-national representation. Subsequently, the chapter scrutinizes the most influential factors that led to the crisis among the republics and within the leadership of the country; the role played by the intellectuals, especially in Serbia: and the troubled question of Kosovo. In the end, the chapter describes the key steps, including the role of the army, that made impossible any further negotiation about a peaceful reshaping of the federation, making the violent collapse of the State inevitable.