ABSTRACT
As the 1980s wore on, it became increasingly clear that the deepening economic crisis and the political inertia which characterized the system were profoundly incompatible. Rising ethnic frictions in Kosovo and, just below the surface, in Bosnia were straining the political fabric at another level too. Milosevic now mobilized several hundred Serbs from Kosovo, who were brought to Novi Sad, where they organized two days of antigovernment protests beginning on 7 July. Local leaders were shaken, but refused to buckle to pressure from the streets. Despite the clarity of the Serbian position, there seemed to be little progress toward realizing objectives of the Serbian party. Stambolic, who had served as president of the Serbian CC since April 1984, was seen by many as careerist whose commitment to Serbian program was largely formal. The growing fragmentation of the country was also reflected in the republicanization of the press and was one of a number of factors pushing the country toward disintegration.
