SPORTS, GENDER, AND DIPLOMACY IN SOCIALIST YUGOSLAVIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30925/4.1.1Keywords:
sports, women, gender, diplomacy , Yugoslavia, socialismAbstract
This article examines the intersection of gender, power, and sport in socialist Yugoslavia from the post-Second World War period through the emergence of self-management, a transformative era across political, social, and cultural spheres. By situating sport within broader ideological, institutional, and diplomatic frameworks, the article highlights how it functioned both as a tool for nation-building and as a site of gendered inequality. Despite formal claims of inclusivity, women’s participation remained constrained, reflecting persistent patriarchal structures in athletic and societal domains. The underrepresentation of women in sport corresponded to their marginalization in diplomatic arenas, as sporting success was leveraged to project Yugoslavia’s international prestige and influence. Drawing on historical institutionalism, this paper illustrates how Yugoslavia’s sport governance structures reproduced gender hierarchies, while also illuminating the socio-political contradictions of socialist modernization. The study integrates structural, cultural, psychological, and policy-related factors to provide an understanding of women’s constrained roles in Yugoslav sport and diplomacy.
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