Politika odbrane Jugoslavije (1945-1959)

Abstract

the published resources, memoir notes and press, as well as on the professional historiography literature. In accordance with the topic, the archives that referred to the work of the Federal Government, the League of Communists of Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav People's Army proved to be especially useful.The work chronologically covers the period from 1945, when the Second World War ended and socialist Yugoslavia was created, until 1958, when the new Law on National Defense was passed, which changed the defense system that had been applied until then. Broadly speaking, the main aim of our research was to analyze Yugoslav defense policy. By analyzing its main trends, we tried to determine how it changed over time, as well as which factors had the greatest influence on it. Our intention was to show the extent to which the foreign policy and geostrategic position of Yugoslavia, as well as the security problems that arose from them, influenced the development of Yugoslav defense policy and how Yugoslav war plans changed in accordance with these changes. Also, our aim was to use the analysis to find out how and in what way the Yugoslav military doctrine changed and developed during the observed period. Considering that the defense of the country in the conditions of the modern war demanded that all necessary preparations be made most carefully in peace, it was necessary to determine who would take care of them and who would determine the necessary measures for that. Since the human factor is one of the most important in the defense system, our aim was to show how the military officers of the Yugoslav (People's) Army were educated and how the officers in the observed period were transformed from partisan personnel without the necessary theoretical military knowledge to modern officers ready to use their knowledge to solve all the problems that are set before them. We also tried to establish, through the analysis of military training and non-military military education, the extent to which Yugoslav citizens were able to defend their country in the event of foreign aggression against it. Review and analysis of the development of the Yugoslav military economy, which was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War, the development of transport infrastructure, construction of military facilities and their impact on the country's defense power, but also on overall social development in Yugoslavia, was also one of significant aims of our research. We also paid special attention to the analysis of the impact of science on defense policy, primarily through examples of the work of military technical, military history and military geographic institutes, but also through nuclear research that began to be conducted in Yugoslavia in the 1950s.