engleski

The Croatian Perception of the Balkan Wars and the Idea of Yugoslav Integralism

The most important role in shaping public opinion in the early 20th century was performed by newspapers that mirrored political attitudes and commercial interests of different groups. From that time press publishers engaged correspondents in the field, who shed new light on war phenomena. Since the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, through the Balkan Wars and the World War I, it is possible to follow new reflection patterns on international politics and the national question in Croatian lands belonging to the Habsburg Monarchy. In general, until the First Balkan War the political elite saw the solution to national issues in a federalization or a trialistic reform of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. According to these views the creation of one fully autonomous unit would satisfy the demand of the Croats and other South-Slavic peoples under the Habsburg crown. The introduction of the commissioner's office in Croatia opened the door for extreme changes on the public scene. Some actors took a broader environment into account, approaching swiftly the idea of South Slav integralism upon the ruins of the Habsburg Monarchy. The Balkan Wars were a milestone in an anti-Habsburg mood that spilled over, particularly among the members of youth movements. Thereafter, the concept of Yugoslav integralism was operated through the opinion that a victorious Serbia must be the Piedmont of the whole South Slav region. In this way, during the Second Balkan War, the general public openly supported the Serbian side and strongly condemned the Bulgarians as breakers of Slavic solidarity. This evolution was also reflected in the movement of Croatian nationalists, who encouraged the memory of uprisings (the martyrdom of Eugen Kvaternik, for example) and some of them took part in attempted assassinations of government officials. In some ways the Balkans Wars brought a new interpretation of traditional ideology through which even the exclusive Croatian statehood ideology could be incorporated into Yugoslavism. The Balkan Wars' results strengthened the position of Serbia in the eyes of many Croats. This was the case with prominent Croat artists who became euphoric and wrote pieces on the fallen heroes of Kosovo in the struggle against the Turks and who were now reborn in Serbocentric Yugoslavism.

Balkan Wars; nationalism; Yugoslav integralism

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