SERBIAN DEMOCRACY OF THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES AND THE FINAL SHOWDOWN WITH IT: A CASE STUDY OF MILOVAN DJILAS 1945-1946

Abstract

The Serbian democratic tradition was gradually built up throughout the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century, until the First World War. This tradition was created in parallel with the creation of the Serbian state. The main features of this tradition were liberal democracy and a parliamentary multi party political system. This system fell into crisis between the two world wars. The last remnants of the Serbian democratic tradition were destroyed by the communists after World War II. After World War II, a new order was established in Yugoslavia under absolute communist domination. The new government immediately began the radical elimination of all remaining political and other factors from the period of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. With the defeat and removal from post-war political life of the pre-war parties and their leaders, the last remnants of the century-old tradition of Serbian democracy disappeared. How this looked in practice in 1945 and 1946, we have tried to show through a case study the methods of action of one of the most influential and highest officials of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in that period, Milovan Đilas, that is, on examples of confrontations with some of the most prominent representatives of the Serbian civil opposition. On the example of the activities of Milovan Đilas in conflict with the remnants of the old civic political system and the remnants of the Serbian democratic tradition, on the examples of two major civic figures, Milan Grol and Dragoljub Jovanović, the methods and practices of communist political action and the replacement of one political culture with another are very clearly and vividly seen and reflected.