The following contribution sketches in the political developments in Yugoslavia after the issuing of the octroyed constitution in September 1931, mainly based upon thorough research into sources in Czech and foreign archives and analysis of period publications. It particularly focuses on the activity of the Yugoslav opposition and on the position adopted by Czechoslovakia – as one of Yugoslavia’s key foreign policy allies, as well as a country with which many representatives of the Yugoslav opposition movement had close relations. Another aim is to capture the transformations that took place in Czechoslovakia in public opinion, in the press, and in some of the political parties’ stances on the political situation in Yugoslavia, as contrasted with the official position of Czechoslovakia’s foreign policy formulated and represented by Minister Edvard Beneš.
The study submitted herein, which was conducted on the basis of investigation of source materials undertaken in Czech and foreign archives as well as study of Czech, Yugoslav and foreign literature, attempts to map the situation of the political opposition in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) between 1929 and 1931. This is the period spanning between the proclamation of a dictatorship by King Alexander Karađorđević in January 1929 and the issuing of the octroi constitution in September 1931. At the same time, the study attempts to inform readers about Czechoslovakia’s stance — as a significant Yugoslav ally — toward the local political opposition.
This study follows on from the author’s paper published in 2015 in Modern History, which looked at the ambiguous relations between the Little Entente partners of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia with Italy and Germany and the impact of these relations on their mutual alliance. The following study endeavours to analyse and describe additional areas of conflict in Czechoslovak-Yugoslav relations. These involve the different stances of both countries on Bulgaria, the Soviet Union and Poland. The study aims to find the reasons for and roots of these mutual controversies, and also to map out what consequences these had for mutual political relations. In doing so, it draws from extensive archive material of Czechoslovak and Yugoslav provenance, in particular from the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague, the Archives of the Office of the President of the Republic in Prague, and the Yugoslav Archives in Belgrade. Along with this source material, contemporary newspapers and domestic and foreign literature are also used.
The following study looks at one area of Czechoslovak-Yugoslav political relations, this being their relations with third countries, specifically Italy and Germany. Although the Czechoslovak Republic and Kingdom of Yugoslavia were close allies in the interwar period who co-ordinated their foreign policy within the Little Entente framework including at a bilateral level, there were also many disputes and expectations which went unfulfilled in foreign policy relations which arose from the two allies’ different positions in regard to third countries, specifically Italy and Germany, for example. The study endeavours to find the reasons and roots of these controversies between the countries, and also to map their consequences for mutual political relations. In so doing, it draws from extensive archive material of Czechoslovak and Yugoslav provenance, in particular from the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague, the Archives of the Office of the President of the Republic in Prague, and the Yugoslav Archives in Belgrade. Along with this source material, contemporary newspapers and domestic and foreign literature are also used.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.