Nova strategija spoljne politike Jugoslavije 1956-1961

This study analyses the changes in foreign policy of socialist Yugoslavia in the second half of the fifties, characterized by the author as a transition from the policy of equidistance between the East and the West towards the substantive cooperation with African and Asian non-aligned countries. This shift is tracked through (and explained by) a set of crises in Yugoslav relations with both USSR and the Western powers. The author examines both the political direction and the economic policies of Yugoslavia, and comes to the conclusion that, although the policy of non-alignment stood on a firm basis, Yugoslavia continued to strengthen its economic ties with the West. This economical orientation, however, did not interfere with the strong push towards the new foreign policy orientation. This strategy was heralded in the course of Josip Broz Tito’s visit to African and Asian countries (1958-9) and has achieved full swing at the first summit of the leaders of the non-aligned countries, which was held in Belgrade in 1961. The study is based on archival sources predominantly from the Yugoslav archives.