ABSTRACT
The cohesive force of the state, based on an imposed communist ideology, and maintained by a considerable repressive mechanism, vanished with the disintegration of the Soviet bloc. It was promptly replaced by a new ideology: ethnic nationalism. The disintegration of Yugoslavia reveals the influence of historical tradition, as Slovenia and Croatia became determined to re-establish their ancient ties with Central Europe. For before 1918, Slovenia and Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and therefore a part of Central Europe and Western culture. Re-integrating their original attachments to Austria, Hungary, Italy and the European community appeared to be the natural outcome of the disintegration of communist rule, which had been perceived as having been the embodiment of an unnatural entanglement. A tentative attempt to compare the disintegration of Yugoslavia and Austria-Hungary cannot hide their obvious differences, but such a comparison is nevertheless useful.
