Jugoslavenski komunisti između mira i razdora
Authors:   Sarajevo Information Centre on the International Criminal Tribunal  for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Memišević Hamza , Kuka Ermin ,   University of Sarajevo, Institute for Research on Crimes Against humanity and international law
Published: November 2022

The Yugoslav Communists, since their very appearance on the socio-political scene, have occupied a significant place in the historical perspective. During the Second World War in Yugoslavia, there was a significant change in political and social relations. The existence of ideological and civil war in the period 1941-1945 is crucial for understanding war and post-war events. The People's Liberation Army, ie the party's military instrument for the implementation of political and social changes, proved to be a key and decisive factor for the establishment of communist rule. The communist party did not observe the war in Yugoslavia through anti-fascism and anti-fascist struggle but through the so-called national liberation struggle and the socialist revolution. The key goal of the Communist Party was a fundamental change of social paradigm. In order to realize that idea, the party acted realpolitik. Initially, the party promoted common goals. Nevertheless, the party turned to its partial interests as soon as favorable military-political circumstances were created. The initial promotion of common goals was just a mimicry of the real intentions of the party. The Communist Party had a clearly defined political platform and goals for the national liberation struggle. These goals included taking over and establishing power, modeled on the Soviet Union. The conflict in Yugoslavia contained all the elements of an ideological-civil war because all the warring parties used the turmoil of war to carry out their political goals. In the context of the CPY, the basic form of the uprising was the partisan war, which escalated into a war against the enemy, those who were considered a threat to the party's future plans. In 1942, the People's Liberation Army was formed with the first divisions and corps (within it), while the decisive battles in 1943 definitely strengthened the People's Liberation Movement. A real understanding of the place and role of the Yugoslav communists, within the framework of historical reality, is the basic problem of this research. The aim is to review this phenomenon without any idealization, but also without the reduction of historical relevance, to review this phenomenon. There is no doubt that the Yugoslav communists achieved enormous success, in a political and social context. In the first years of first Yugoslavia, it was a marginal group, which was soon banned. However, during the great war, in which the collapse of the previous state took place, as well as the forms of civil war, the Yugoslav communists had the opportunity to reorganize the social, political, and economic order. The research within this paper is limited by the interest in the activities of the Yugoslav communists, from their appearance on the political scene to the moments when they become a powerful political force, without which the period behind us cannot be understood. The elaboration of the mentioned topic implied the application of all basic methods of scientific research. Of the general scientific methods, the hypothetical-deductive method and the comparative method were used. Obtaining empirical data was achieved by applying the method of analysis (content) of relevant documentation.