In 1992 Yugoslavia finally succumbed to civil war, collapsing under the pressure of its inherent ethnic
tensions. Its dissolution has been well-documented and the focus of much academic debate. However,
existing accounts pay little regard to the rocky relationship between the Yugoslav Federation and the
European Community (EC) prior to the crisis in the early 1990s and the instability this created.
While still analysing the role played by Yugoslavia within the international arena during the second half of
the twentieth century, this book offers a fresh analysis of the role of the EC in the disintegration of the
Yugoslav state. It explores the economic, political and social aspects that eroded the relationship between
the two parties. Branislav Radeljic offers a substantial empirical analysis of the EC’s relations with
Yugoslavia from the late 1960s, under the presidency of Josip Broz Tito, through to the collapse of the
Yugoslav federation in 1992 after the rise of Slobodan Miloševic and the beginning of the Yugoslav Wars,
starting in 1991.
This groundbreaking study places emphasis on the role of Slovenes, Croats and other diasporas to show
how non-state actors played a leading role in the crisis, focusing on their capacity to contribute and
affect policy-making at EC level. The author shows how the lack of direction and inadequate political
mechanisms within the EC enabled these actors to take centre stage, and how EC paralysis precipitated
bloody conflict in the Balkans.
‘This is a fluid and engaging account of the EC/EU’s troubled engagement with Yugoslavia
during and after its disintegration and collapse into violent disorder. Radeljic has
produced a well-researched text that is both accessible and scholarly. It will be of interest
to scholars and the general reader. The contribution it makes to our understanding of this
period of European political history is worthy and the conclusions reached are measured.’