Slovene Attitude towards (con)federalism, Autonomism and Unitarism from the Vidovdan Constitution to Elections in 1923.

Abstract

The article uses journal publications and memoirs of prominent individuals to analyze the Slovene political sphere's attitude toward the cultural and territorial aspects of the Yugoslav idea during the period from the Vidovdan Constitution to the elections of 1923. From a territorial perspective, a desire to incorporate Bulgarians into the Yugoslav state was evident across all factions of the Slovene political spectrum. For the Slovene liberals, this was seen as a natural sequence of events aligned with their pan-Slavic ideology, while conservatives viewed it as a strategy to reduce internal Serbian dominance. During this period, elements of autonomism were noticeable in all segments of Slovene politics, including among some liberals who otherwise supported the idea of Yugoslav unitarism. Despite internal divisions, the Slovene conservatives emerged as the political winners of that time. Although their vision of Yugoslavism – both territorial and cultural – differed significantly from that of the state authorities, the conservatives employed moderate oppositional rhetoric. They capitalized on the partial alignment of their tactical goals with those of the Radical Party, eventually fostering cooperation between the largest Slovene and Serbian political parties. On the other hand, although the social democrats and communists had no elected representatives in the elections, Slovenian communists were among the early advocates of the right to national self-determination during this period. This principle was soon integrated as a fundamental tenet of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia’s programme, and the struggle against centralism became a key pillar of its strategy for gaining power.