View source for Yugo-nostalgia

{{Short description|Nostalgia for Yugoslavia among ex-Yugoslav populations}}
[[File:Ptuj (8635191420).jpg|thumb|Yugoslav symbols during a carnival in [[Ptuj]], Slovenia, in 2013]]
[[File:Yugoslavian flag in Mostar.jpg|thumb|Yugoslav flag on a street in [[Mostar]], Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2009]]
{{Yugoslavs}}
'''Yugo-nostalgia''' ([[Slovene language|Slovene]], [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]], and {{lang-sh-Latn-Cyrl|jugonostalgija|југоносталгија}}) is an emotional longing for the former country of [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] which is experienced by some people in its successor countries: the present-day [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Croatia]], [[Montenegro]], [[North Macedonia]], [[Serbia]], [[Kosovo]], and [[Slovenia]]. It is a political and cultural phenomenon that includes nostalgia for a time past when the splintered states were a part of one country, grief over the war that tore it apart, and a desire to again unite. Self-described Yugo-nostalgics may express grief at the failure of brotherly love, unity, and coexistence, and distress at division and nationalism, or they may assert that their quality of life was better in Yugoslavia.

While its anthropological and sociological aspects have not been extensively studied, it can also be used negatively and ethnocentrically to denigrate someone usually of the same ethnic background who expresses sympathy or statement of support for any aspect of Yugoslavia, instead of the prevailing post-Yugoslav successor state they belong to.<ref name="lindstrom">{{cite news|url=http://sites.google.com/site/nrlindstrom/ECEPageProofs.pdf?attredirects=0|first=Nicole|last=Lindstrom|title=Yugonostalgia: Restorative and Reflective Nostalgia in Former Yugoslavia}}</ref>

Present cultural and economic manifestations of Yugo-nostalgia include music groups with Yugoslav or [[Titoist]] retro iconography, art works, films, theater performances, and many organized, themed tours of the main cities of the former Yugoslav republics. The notion of Yugo-nostalgia should not be confused with [[Yugoslavism]], which is the ideology behind the unity of [[South Slavs|South Slavic]] nations. The concepts have some overlap but Yugo-nostalgia celebrates the pre-1991 period whereas Yugoslavism and Yugoslav reunification (as a branch of [[pan-Slavism]]) are an ongoing mindset just as likely to appeal to persons born after the [[breakup of Yugoslavia]] that feel their national interests may be best served by unification.

== Polling history ==
According to a Gallup poll from 2017, 81% of Serbs think that the breakup of Yugoslavia harmed their country, while 77% of Bosnians and Herzegovinians, 65% of Montenegrins, and 61% of Macedonians agree. Only 4% of Serbs think that the break-up of Yugoslavia was beneficial for their country, while just 6% of Bosniaks and 15% of Montenegrins feel positive about the split. In Croatia, 55% of respondents saw the break-up as beneficial and just 23% as harmful. In Slovenia, 41% see the break-up as beneficial while 45% think it was harmful. The highest number of respondents who welcomed the break-up of Yugoslavia were in Kosovo which declared independence in 2008, where 75% said the split was beneficial and only 10% regretted it.<ref>{{cite web |title=Many in Balkans Still See More Harm From Yugoslavia Breakup |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/210866/balkans-harm-yugoslavia-breakup.aspx |website=Gallup |date=18 May 2017 |access-date=28 September 2019}}</ref>

== Positive sense ==
[[File:Junos1.JPG|thumb|left|T-shirts on sale in Tito's birthplace of [[Kumrovec]], Croatia, 2012]]
[[File:Sarajevo 03 09 09 (29) (3908687427).jpg|thumb|left|Tito memorabilia in an outdoor market in [[Sarajevo]], Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2009]]
In its positive sense, Yugo-nostalgia refers to a nostalgic emotional attachment to both subjective and objectively desirable aspects of the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|SFR Yugoslavia]]. These are described as one or more of: economic security, sense of solidarity, [[Titoism|socialist ideology]], [[Brotherhood and unity|multiculturalism]], [[internationalism (politics)|internationalism]] and [[Non-Aligned Movement|non-alignment]], history, customs and traditions, and a more rewarding way of life.<ref>Brenda Luthar and Marusa Puznik, Remembering Utopia: The Culture of Everyday Life in Socialist Yugoslavia. Washington, DC: New Academia Publishing, 2010</ref> As Halligan argues, such nostalgia effectively "reclaims" pre-1989 cultural artefacts, even propaganda films. Examples include consumer goods and brands.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Velikonja |first=Mitja |date=2009 |title=Lost in Transition. Nostalgia for Socialism in Post-socialist Countries |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=908243 |journal=East European Politics and Societies |language=English |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=535–551 |doi=10.1177/0888325409345140 |issn=0888-3254}}</ref>

These positive facets, however, are opposed to the perceived faults of the successor countries, many of which are still burdened by the consequences of the [[Yugoslav wars]] and are in various stages of economic and political [[transition economy|transition]]. The faults are variously identified as [[parochialism]], [[jingoism]], [[political corruption|corruption]] in politics and business, the disappearance of the [[social safety net]], economic hardship, [[equity (economics)|income inequities]], and higher [[crime]] rates, as well as a general disarray in administrative and other state institutions.<ref name="lindstrom" />

== Negative sense ==
In the negative sense, the epithet has been used by the supporters of the new post-dissolution regimes to portray their critics as [[anachronism|anachronistic]], unrealistic, [[patriotism|unpatriotic]], and potential [[traitor]]s. In particular, during and after the Yugoslav wars, the adjective has been used by state officials and media of some successor countries to deflect criticism and discredit certain avenues of political debate. In fact, it is likely that the term ''Yugo-nostalgic'' was originally coined precisely for this purpose, appearing as a politically motivated pejorative label in government-controlled media, for example in Croatia, very soon after the breakup of the SFRY.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://mams.rmit.edu.au/wcch64c2r40r.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918134924/http://mams.rmit.edu.au/wcch64c2r40r.pdf|archive-date=18 September 2008|title=Reconciliation and Popular Culture: A Promising Development in Former Yugoslavia?|first=Iva|last=Pauker|website=RMIT University|location=Australia}}</ref>

According to [[Dubravka Ugrešić]] the term ''Yugo-nostalgic'' is used to discredit a person as a [[public enemy]] and a "traitor".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Culture of Lies: Antipolitical Essays |last=Ugrešić |first=Dubravka |year=1998 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |isbn=0-271-01847-X |page=231}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Memory and Power in Post-War Europe: Studies in the Presence of the Past |last=Müller |first=Jan-Werner |year=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-00070-X |page=12}}</ref>

== Yugoslavism after Yugoslavia ==
[[File:Tito impersonator in Skopje 2018.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Tito impersonator in [[Skopje|Skopje, Macedonia]], in 2018]]
After the initial breakup of Yugoslavia at the beginning of the 1990s, [[Republic of Montenegro (1992–2006)|Montenegro]] and [[Republic of Serbia (1992–2006)|Serbia]] continued a state union as the [[Serbia and Montenegro|Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] from April 1992 to February 2003, then simply as Serbia and Montenegro until its own dissolution in June 2006. The number of self-declared [[Yugoslavs]] (in the ethnic sense) in the region reached an all-time low after the breakup of Yugoslavia. The former country's lingua franca, [[Serbo-Croatian]], is no longer the official language of any of the former state's constituent republics. There are few works published about the language, and it no longer has a standardizing body. The [[.yu]] Internet domain name, which was popular among Yugo-nostalgic websites, was phased out in 2010.

However, by the start of the 2010s an increasing number of Slovenes were experiencing Yugo-nostalgia.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1573974/Many-in-Slovenia-yearn-for-old-Yugoslavia.html|title=Many in Slovenia yearn for old Yugoslavia |author=Telegraph |date=29 December 2007 |access-date=21 May 2010 | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> In [[Subotica]], [[Vojvodina]] (the northern province of Serbia), one man set up Yugoland, a [[theme park]] dedicated to Tito and Yugoslavia.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/MRASojQfNWI Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20140624024110/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRASojQfNWI Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRASojQfNWI| title = EuroNews - Europeans - Yugo-nostalgia not what it used to be | website=[[YouTube]]| date = 4 May 2008 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3693853.stm |title=Nostalgic Yugoslav re-creates land of Tito |author=BBC |date=10 May 2004 |access-date=21 May 2010 | work=BBC News}}</ref> People from all over the former Yugoslavia travel great distances to celebrate the legacy of the late country.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7417328.stm |title=Ex-Yugoslavs pine for unity and dignity |author=BBC |date=23 May 2008 |access-date=21 May 2010 | work=BBC News}}</ref> On [[Youth Day#Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia's Youth Day]], a day traditionally known as Tito's birthday, popular gathering places for Yugo-nostalgics include [[Kumrovec]], the small village in [[Croatian Zagorje]] where Tito was born, and his resting place at the [[House of Flowers (mausoleum)|House of Flowers]]. These sites attract several thousand visitors each year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.total-croatia-news.com/lifestyle/63024-several-thousand-admirers-of-tito-aelebrate-day-of-youth-in-kumrovec |title=Several Thousand Admirers of Tito Celebrate Day of Youth in Kumrovec |publisher=Total Croatia News |date=21 May 2022 |access-date=15 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://slobodnadalmacija.hr/mozaik/zivot/zimski-vrt-s-prostorima-za-rad-i-odmor-josipa-broza-tita-posjecuju-brojni-gosti-evo-sto-se-nalazi-u-kuci-cvijeca-i-kada-je-sagraden-mauzolej-1240740 |title=Zimski vrt s prostorima za rad i odmor Josipa Broza Tita posjećuju brojni gosti, evo što se nalazi u 'Kući cvijeća' i kada je sagrađen mauzolej |trans-title=Many guests visit Josip Broz Tito's winter garden with work and rest areas, here is what is in the 'House of Flowers' and when the mausoleum was built |language=sh |newspaper=[[Slobodna Dalmacija]] |date=14 November 2022 |access-date=10 March 2023}}</ref>

In Croatia, the "Alliance of Yugoslavs" ({{lang|sh|Savez Jugoslavena}}) was established in 2010 in Zagreb, an association aiming to unite the Yugoslavs of Croatia, regardless of religion, gender, [[Political views|political]] or other views.<ref name=jutarnji>[http://www.jutarnji.hr/u-zagrebu-osnovan-savez-jugoslavena/654372/ U Zagrebu osnovan Savez Jugoslavena] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821212251/http://www.jutarnji.hr/u-zagrebu-osnovan-savez-jugoslavena/654372/ |date=2012-08-21 }} (in Croatian). [[Jutarnji list]]. ''Portal Jutarnji.hr; 23 March 2010''</ref> Its main goal is the official recognition of the [[Yugoslavs|Yugoslav nation]] in every [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] successor state: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.<ref name=index>[http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/u-zagrebu-osnovan-savez-jugoslavena-imamo-pravo-na-ocuvanje-bastine-jugoslavije-/482391.aspx U Zagrebu osnovan Savez Jugoslavena: Imamo pravo na očuvanje baštine Jugoslavije] (in Croatian). [[Index.hr]]. ''L.J.; 23 March 2010''</ref>

Another organization advocating Yugoslavism is the "Our Yugoslavia" association ({{lang|sh|Udruženje "Naša Jugoslavija"}}) founded on 30 July 2009,<ref name=rtv>[http://www.rtv.rs/sr_lat/region/osnovano-udruzenje-nasa-jugoslavija-u-puli_140247.html Osnovano udruženje "Naša Jugoslavija" u Puli] (in Serbian). [[Radio Television of Vojvodina]]. ''Tanjug; 30 July 2009''</ref> seated in [[Pula]],<ref name=dv>[http://www.dubrovacki.hr/clanak/21270/udruzenje-nasa-jugoslavija-osniva-klubove-jugoslavena Udruženje "Naša Jugoslavija" osniva Klubove Jugoslavena] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401150706/http://www.dubrovacki.hr/clanak/21270/udruzenje-nasa-jugoslavija-osniva-klubove-jugoslavena |date=2012-04-01 }} (in Croatian). Dubrovački vjesnik. ''Silvana Fable; 25 July 2010''</ref> which is an officially registered organization in Croatia.<ref name=opendem>[http://www.opendemocracy.net/heather-mcrobie-anes-makul/yugoslavs-in-twenty-first-century-%E2%80%98erased%E2%80%99-people Yugoslavs in the twenty-first century: ‘erased’ people] [[openDemocracy.net]]. ''Anes Makul and Heather McRobie; 17 February 2011''</ref> The association has most members in the towns of [[Rijeka]], [[Zagreb]], and [[Pula]].<ref name="vesti">[http://www.vesti-online.com/Vesti/Ex-YU/70339/Nasa-Jugoslavija-siri-se-Hrvatskom "Naša Jugoslavija" širi se Hrvatskom] (in Serbian). [[Vesti online]]. ''Novi list; 27 July 2010''</ref> Its main aim is the stabilisation of relations among the Yugoslav successor states. It is also active in Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, its official registration as an association was denied by the Bosnian state authorities.<ref name=opendem/>

The probably best-known Yugoslavist organization in Montenegro is the "Consulate-general of the SFRY" with its headquarters in the coastal town of [[Tivat]]. Prior to the population census of 2011, Marko Perković, the president of this organization called on the Yugoslavs of Montenegro to freely declare their Yugoslav identity on the upcoming census.<ref name=konzulsfrj>[http://www.srbijanet.rs/vesti/drustvo/76878-perkovic-pozvao-crnogorce-da-se-izjasne-i-kao-jugosloveni.html Perković pozvao Crnogorce da se izjasne i kao Jugosloveni] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405231436/http://www.srbijanet.rs/vesti/drustvo/76878-perkovic-pozvao-crnogorce-da-se-izjasne-i-kao-jugosloveni.html |date=5 April 2011 }} (in Serbian). Srbijanet. ''03-03-2011''</ref>

Yugo-nostalgia retains a stronghold among former Yugoslav populations who emigrated the country before its breakup, most prominently in the United States, Canada, and Australia. They have been described as 'de-patriated': "scattered all over the world, without a homeland" or "a hope of returning home someday".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GJTvDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA93 |title=Media Archaeologies, Micro-Archives and Storytelling |page=93 |last=Pogačar |first=Martin |isbn=9781137525802 |oclc=1003786345 |year=2016 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan UK]] |location=London}}</ref>

== Yugoslav reunification == 
[[File:Yugoslavia (1946-1990) location map.svg|thumb|Map of [[SFR Yugoslavia]]]]
Yugoslav reunification, the idea of reunifying some or all of the former republics, has grassroots appeal across the former territory. However, its proponents are resigned to the notion that such a state is not likely to come into fruition since the successor regimes have firmly cemented their commitment to an independent existence, having established their institutions and chosen their respective directions.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bilefsky |first=Dan |date=January 30, 2008 |title=Oh, Yugoslavia! How They Long for Your Firm Embrace |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/world/europe/30yugo.html?_r=0 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=March 16, 2015}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Balkanization]]
* [[Communist nostalgia]], similar in different places
** {{annotated link|Nostalgia for the Polish People's Republic}}
** {{annotated link|Ostalgie}}
** {{annotated link|Nostalgia for the Soviet Union}}
* [[Serbian–Montenegrin unionism]]
* [[Yugoslav studies]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin}}
* Halligan, Benjamin: "Idylls of Socialism: The Sarajevo Documentary School and the Problem of the Bosnian Sub-proletariat". In ''Studies in Eastern European Cinema'' (Autumn 2010). (http://usir.salford.ac.uk/11571/3/visualrecollectivisationpostcopyedit.pdf){{dead link|date=July 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{cite book|author1=Breda Luthar|author2=Maruša Pušnik|title=Remembering Utopia: The Culture of Everyday Life in Socialist Yugoslavia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S0x0vUKAhbIC|year=2010|publisher=New Academia Publishing, LLC|isbn=978-0-9844062-3-4}}
* Trovesi, Andrea: ''L'enciclopedia della Jugonostalgija''. In Banchelli, Eva: ''Taste the East: Linguaggi e forme dell'Ostalgie'', Sestante Edizioni, Bergamo 2006, {{ISBN|88-87445-92-3}}, p.&nbsp;.
* {{cite book|last=Djokić|first=Dejan|author-link=Dejan Djokić (historian)|title=Yugoslavism: Histories of a Failed Idea, 1918-1992|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMyZdvTympMC|year=2003|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=978-1-85065-663-0}}
* Volcic, Zala, "Yugo-Nostalgia: Cultural Memory and Media in the Former Yugoslavia," ''Critical Studies in Media Communication'', Volume 24, Number 1, March 2007: 257-274
*[[Kristen R. Ghodsee]], "[http://www.univie.ac.at/Geschichte/LHOMME/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19%3A15-1-2004-postkommunismen&catid=5%3Alhomme-zfg&Itemid=6&lang=en Red Nostalgia? Communism, Women's Emancipation, and Economic Transformation in Bulgaria]."
*{{cite journal|last=Bošković|first=Aleksandar|year=2013|title=Yugonostalgia and Yugoslav Cultural Memory: Lexicon of Yu Mythology|journal=Slavic Review|volume=72|issue=1|pages=54–78|doi=10.5612/slavicreview.72.1.0054|s2cid=164995701}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/25/everyone-loved-each-other-rise-yugonostalgia-tito |title='Everyone loved each other': the rise of Yugonostalgia|first=Jessica|last=Bateman|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=25 August 2022|access-date=30 August 2022}}
*{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/bringing-back-tito-790002.html |title=Bringing back Tito |first=Peter |last=Popham |work=[[The Independent]] |date=1 March 2008 |access-date=21 May 2010 }}
*{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5784869 |title='Yugonostalgia' Takes Hold in Slovenia |first=Amy |last=Standen |work=[[NPR]] |date=9 October 2006 |access-date=21 May 2010}}


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[[Category:Communist nostalgia]]
[[Category:Legacy of Yugoslavia|Nostalgia]]
[[Category:Pan-Slavism]]
[[Category:Retro style]]