Held together by apparatchiks and later Tito's charisma Yugoslavia never really incorporated
separate Balkan nationalisms into the Pan-Slavic ideal. Macedonia - frequently ignored by
Belgrade - had survived centuries of Turkish domination Bulgarian invasion and Serbian
assimilation before it became part of the Yugoslav project in the aftermath of the First World
War. Drawing on an extensive analysis of archival material private correspondence and
newspaper articles Nada Boskovska provides an arresting account of the Macedonian experience
of the interwar years charting the growth of political consciousness and the often violent
state-driven attempts to curb autonomy. Sketching the complex picture of nationalism within a
multi-ethnic but unitarist state through a comprehensive analysis of policy economy and
education Yugoslavia and Macedonia before Tito is the first book to describe the uneasy and
often turbulent relationship between a Serbian-dominated government and an increasingly
politically aware Macedonian people.Concerned with the question of integration and political
manipulation Boskovska gives credence to voices critical of Royal Yugoslavia and offers a
fresh insight into domestic policy and the Macedonian question going beyond traditional high
politics. Broadening the spectrum of discussion and protest she reveals the voices of a people
protesting constitutional and electoral fraud the neglect of local needs and state
machinations designed to create a satellite province.
