Socijaldemokratska stranka Bosne i Hercegovine (1909-1919)
Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina /1909-1919/

Summary/Abstract: After the establishment of the Social Democratic Party of BiH began ‘left-wings conflicts’ on social, political and national programmes, that we will try to elaborate in this paper. Nevertheless, it is evident that the Bosnian Social Democrats - despite the pragmatic programme solutions that were popularized - failed to fulfil their political goals, because the party did not have adequate support from the Bosnian citizens - above all, the workers and peasants as their immanent target groups. However, if we take in consideration the time and circumstances in which they were politically active, they objectively could not do much more because of their international, progressive and multi-ethnic note that was not ‘the formula for success’ in that period of time. Unquestionable value was oppositionists’ attitude of social democrats towards exploiting, step motherly and assimilator’s Austro-Hungarian government policy, but also dangerous, uncompromising, and radical politics of Bosnian nationalist parties. Social democratic understanding of national question was the most acceptable and the most relevant. The Social Democrats have sought to create a common state of all Yugoslav nations to live in “united Yugoslavia” or in “independent Balkan federation”, naturally, based on the principle of equality. Their thought was also marked by international attributes and it was foreseen the creation of “the world community of nations”. They considered Bosnian Muslims - Bosniaks as completely equal to Serbs and Croats, in fact, part of the common nation ‘Serbo-Croat’ and planning for them equal place in the common state of all Yugoslavs, what excluded, in advance, any assimilation of Bosnian Muslims.

• Details
• Contents