How can you have a surviving Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia?

[Time Enough]

How could you have the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia survive to the modern day. It doesn’t have to be Titoist or even Socialist, just the nation of Yugoslavia should be able exist within it’s pre 1990 borders.

One idea I’ve had is Tito dies in 1969/70 allowing the Croatian Spring have headway leading to a properly decentralised Yugoslavia, but I don’t know if that would fix any of the late economic problems.

 

[Nofix]

One idea I've had is to throw in the heavy variable of a third World War sometime in the 1950s. Maybe Yugoslavia would survive to the modern day with either capitalism or communism conclusively defeated in a horrible, bloody war. Maybe there would be no one Yugoslav left.

Vague and useless as all hell, but its a start.

But seriously I do think that surviving a horrid War, especially right after World War II is in living memory, and there being some kind of restructuring of government and society to something more open, something more capable of confronting past hatreds, and something more democratic. Something where everyone realizes "yeah we can't hate each other anymore, lest we completely end human civilization."

 

[Time Enough]

One idea I've had is to throw in the heavy variable of a third World War sometime in the 1950s. Maybe Yugoslavia would survive to the modern day with either capitalism or communism conclusively defeated in a horrible, bloody war. Maybe there would be no one Yugoslav left.

Vague and useless as all hell, but its a start.

But seriously I do think that surviving a horrid War, especially right after World War II is in living memory, and there being some kind of restructuring of government and society to something more open, something more capable of confronting past hatreds, and something more democratic. Something where everyone realizes "yeah we can't hate each other anymore, lest we completely end human civilization."

Well that’s one way to do, the thing with a 1950s Yugoslavia surviving is that it means Milovan Đilas is around still because then it means someone who believes in Democratic Socialism etc. is in a prominent position (particularly if it’s in the early 1950s then he’s Second after Tito). Having someone who supports the Federation but believes in democracy is probably the person needed.

 

[Time Enough]

I have also realised that if you had a true centralising authoritative figure then that would mean there would probably be a ‘Cultural Revolution’ style event in which all Nationalities are scrubbed and replaced with ‘Yugoslav’.

Of course this would probably lead to a weird situation in the 1990s and a zombie state of sorts.

 

[Charles EP M.]

I have also realised that if you had a true centralising authoritative figure then that would mean there would probably be a ‘Cultural Revolution’ style event in which all Nationalities are scrubbed and replaced with ‘Yugoslav’.

Well, that would certainly keep the state around if it worked! We'd then get a very different position for Yugoslavia during the Cold War and after - "ah, the one that did the really nasty stuff" instead of the friendly semi-out-of-Soviet-orbit one

 

[Time Enough]

Well, that would certainly keep the state around if it worked! We'd then get a very different position for Yugoslavia during the Cold War and after - "ah, the one that did the really nasty stuff" instead of the friendly semi-out-of-Soviet-orbit one

Yeah, it was possible, there were people who I think if Tito wasn’t around would definitely decided that something resembling Stalin would be a good way to go.

I also realised bizarrely that a Labour Majority in 1950 means that Yugoslavia stays around longer in the long term. Milovan Đilas probably stays around to impress the Brits who could be possible investors and I could see a Attlee/Gaitskell pursuing a ‘Our Friend In the East’ route as they trade with the fledgling nation.

 

[Venocara]

I have also realised that if you had a true centralising authoritative figure then that would mean there would probably be a ‘Cultural Revolution’ style event in which all Nationalities are scrubbed and replaced with ‘Yugoslav’.

Do you know of a figure despicable enough to be willing to carry out such measures?

 

[Time Enough]

Do you know of a figure despicable enough to be willing to carry out such measures?

Aleksander Ranković would probably be your best bet, not really a Mao like figure but certainly strong Brezhnev energy from him. Could certainly see him pushing for a ‘Yugoslav’ identity which is really just Greater Serbian Nationalism with some other folks allowed around.

 

[lerk]

Aleksander Ranković would probably be your best bet, not really a Mao like figure but certainly strong Brezhnev energy from him. Could certainly see him pushing for a ‘Yugoslav’ identity which is really just Greater Serbian Nationalism with some other folks allowed around.

Yes but that in and of itself runs into a lot of problems. For one thing, pushing a "Yugoslav" identity would be met with a lot of opposition. In fact, there was a Croatian Spring which took place IOTL, and if that could happen under Tito, imagine what would happen under a man such as Rankovic (assuming your assessment of him is correct). The Soviets, never really friendly with Yugoslavia at all, would take an interest in this and may see it in their interests to break up Yugoslavia and instead replace it with ethnic republics as part of the Warsaw Pact. We might see the Yugoslav Wars happen twenty years earlier, with the sides reversed. NATO supports the Serbian Yugoslav government, while the Soviet Union supports the Croatian, Bosnian, and Albanian separatists.