What question did this study set out to answer?

The essay investigates how narratives surround Yugoslavs working abroad contributed to their identity formation.

June 14, 2026Open Access

Global Imaginaries of Work and Workplaces: Yugoslavs Employed Abroad and the Conceptualisation of Yugoslav Identity

Key Points

The essay investigates how narratives surround Yugoslavs working abroad contributed to their identity formation.
Analysis of publications from the Yugoslav Federation and socialist enterprises
Examination of class divisions among Yugoslav workers abroad and domestically
Study of the impact of self-management reforms on work and identity
Identified class divisions among workers employed in Western Europe and within domestic settings
Showed how employment abroad influenced the rise and crisis of Yugoslavism
Revealed the significance of self-management reforms in shaping workplace dynamics and identity

Abstract

This essay examines how Yugoslav identity was conceptualised in narratives about Yugoslavs employed in Western Europe and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries, as promoted through publications issued by the Yugoslav Federation and socialist enterprises. It demonstrates how class divisions existed amongst those employed abroad and between them and workers employed domestically. Examining these divisions as they were shaped by the transformation of work and workplaces in self-management reforms, this essay offers a novel perspective on the role of employment abroad in both the rise and the crisis of Yugoslavism as a political project and identity.

Global Imaginaries of Work and Workplaces: Yugoslavs Employed Abroad and the Conceptualisation of Yugoslav Identity

Key Points

Abstract

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider