What is a Voluntary Association? Rethinking Associational Life from Southeastern Europe: Concepts, Archives and Perspectives
Seminar #3
Bridging Civil Society and the State: Associations, Activism, and Political Change in 20th Century Yugoslavia and Post-Yugoslav States
Isidora Grubački Institute of Contemporary History Ljubljana
Nesa Vrečer Institute of Contemporary History Ljubljana
Saša Hajzler Institute of Contemporary History Ljubljana
In collaboration with the CETOBaC, the Institute of Contemporary History, Ljubljana, and the Modern Greek History Research Center of the Academy of Athens
#SemMod
Programme 2025
Abstract
How can we analyze the dynamic relationship between state and society across different regimes in 20th century East Central Europe and the Balkans? This seminar explores case studies from interwar and socialist Yugoslavia, as well as post-Yugoslav countries, to examine shifts in state-society relations and the role of associations within different social and political systems. Speakers from the Political History group at the Institute of Contemporary History in Ljubljana will present their ongoing research. Topics include voluntary associations and political activism during the 1930s Popular Front, the structure and function of the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia (Socialistična zveza delovnega ljudstva Jugoslavije, SZDL)—a broad umbrella organization encompassing voluntary and professional associations, from fire brigades to media outlets—and, in the post-socialist period, the transition of social movements from voluntary associations into formal political parties, bypassing NGOs as intermediaries between civil society and the state. Ultimately, the seminar raises questions about the potential for studying these transformations within a shared analytical and methodological framework.
About the seminar cycle
This seminar cycle aims to bring together a network of scholars at different career stages and institutional affiliations who share a common interest in two key aspects: first, the study of voluntary associations; and second, a regional focus on Southeastern Europe, with particular attention to Greece and the (post-)Yugoslav region in the 20th and 21st centuries. Despite Southeastern Europe’s reputation for being less inclined toward civic engagement, recent research—including our own—has highlighted the central role of voluntary associations (udruženje/удружење or društvo/друштво in Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian and σύλλογοι or εθελοντικές οργανώσεις in Greek) in shaping social and political life since their emergence in the 19th century. Given the region’s profound socio-political transformations throughout the 20th century—ranging from imperial rule to nation-state formation, from liberal democracy to right-wing dictatorship and to “real socialism”—this project seeks to integrate Southeastern Europe into the global history of associations.
Over the course of three sessions, members of this research network will present recently published and ongoing research on the trajectories of volunteering and associational engagement. We will explore how individuals and groups navigated and shaped these networks over time, focussing on the lived experiences of association members and the interplay between personal agency, institutional structures, and broader social transformations. This seminar cycle aims to foster a dialogue on the key research questions driving participants’ work, the concepts they mobilize, and the sources available for studying associational life.