Independent Slovenia

Following the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia was the one state to break away completely from the catastrophic instability that has plagued the other successor republics. The conditions influencing Slovenia's success were ethnic homogeneity, economic development, and strong civil society. This volume of essays explores the historical, cultural, political, and economic origins of the drive for Slovene independence; the intellectuals, pacifists, punk rockers, feminists, and trade unionists who created the social movements of the Slovene Spring; and the prospects for this new nation in Central Europe. Authors include key Slovene activists and analysts: Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenia's foreign minister at the moment of independence; Tomaz Mastnak, new social movement theorist and participant; feminist researcher Vlasta Jalusic; punk sociologist Gregor Tomc; as well as Slovene and U.S. historians and economists. Written in an accessible style, Independent Slovenia is essential reading for those wanting a deeper understanding of the Yugoslav conflict, and of the small new states in the New Europe.