Yugoslavia, by Heppell and Singleton

[p022] Yugoslavia. By Muriel Heppell and F. B. Singleton. Benn, 27s. This short history of Yugoslavia is divided into two parts—the first attempts to give an outline of the history of those lands which went to make up present-day Yugoslavia, from the time of the Roman empire up to the outbreak of the First World War; the second part deals with the ensuing period up to and including the Tito regime. The author of the first part faces an almost impossible task, that of com- pressing the narrative of nearly two thousand turbulent years, in an area where new kingdoms were constantly arising, founding transient empires, only to break down into minute units under the impact of first barbarian and Turkish invaders, than events in Western Europe—all this into 130 pages. No clear picture emerges, and one is left dazed from the account of the rise and fall of dynasties and empires, the recital of names of rulers, so many and various. that the story dissolves into a meaningless blur. Little attention is given to the economic and social aspects of Baikan society in this period, which might have provided some clue to the restless political life in the area. The second part of the book, on the Second World War and coming to power of Tito especially, is dis- appointing, to say the least. The narrative of events during the war is superficial, in that although the author sympathetically describes the sufferings of the Yugoslav people under the fascists, he does little to explain why Tito should have come to power. The author congratulates Tito for rutting an end to faction fights in the Communist Party and suppressing all opposition, thereby unifying and strengthening the organization. He sees the Communist Party as a vehicle of social reform. Pointing out that in Yugoslavia the one-party system and a certain amount of coercion on measures such as nationalization and agrarian reform are necessary, hecause of the backward nature of the country and its turbulent history, he concludes smugly that in England we are lucky to have a centuries-old tradition of democracy, with two LABOUR REVIEW—Summer 1961 parties now peacefully contending for power within parliament, while basic- ally accepting the status quo. With good fortune, Yugloslavia might even attain this ideal in the future. The meagre political understanding of the author is further demonstrated by his view of the disputes between Yugoslavia and the USSR as mis- understandings on the Russian side; Tito’s accommodations with imperia- lism are seen as an advance, all part of the steady progress towards the ultimate ideal of Western democracy. The authors fail completely to understand the nature of present-day Yugoslavia. Given this, and the fact that they admire the country from the disinterested point of view of the tourist and visitor, this book is of little use to either serious history students or socialists wishing to understand the nature of Yugoslavia today. P.B. Black Demagogy