![Sample our Humanities journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5939/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Humanities.jpg"})
Abstract
This article charts the rise and fall of Yugoslavia’s global economic project through the case of Energoinvest, a large enterprise in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This company was the protagonist first of a ‘leap outwards’, embedded in Yugoslavia’s economic partnerships with the Global South. After a brief phase of reforms, its operations were halted abruptly by the outbreak of the war in Bosnia. Afterwards, the company was at the centre of two clashing visions of post-war economic development, and two different sets of notions about what the future configuration of Bosnia’s post-socialist economy should look like. Should the country rely on its previous socialist-global giants, or should it turn to SMEs development? This debate reveals a complex and long-term discussion about the prospects of post-socialist semi-peripheries in the global economy, about notions, visions, and expectations of ‘globality’, and about the legacies of socialist globalisation after the collapse of state socialism.
Disclosure statement
No financial interest or benefit has arisen from the direct applications of this research.
Notes
1 In relation to this, see the recent exchange between Scranton and Vinsel (Citation2018) and Vinsel (Citation2018).
2 Josip Broz Tito, leader of Yugoslavia’s socialist revolution and of the partisan resistance during WW2, was president of the Socialist Yugoslav Federation until his death in 1980.
3 ‘Yugoslavia’s pre-WW2 economic and political position is factually half-colonial, with low economic development and under the yoke of western political powers; its conditions were similar to those of the newly freed countries’. This view was expressed on a report on Yugoslavia’s technical cooperation, issued for the Federal Executive Council and compiled at the Meeting of Directors of the Federal Council for International Technical Cooperation and Directors of Republican Councils for Technical Cooperation, 1968 [Savetovanja Direktora Saveznog Zavoda za Međunarodnu Tehničku Saradnju i Direktora Republičkih Zavoda za Tehničku Saradnju, 1968.] Arhiv Jugoslavije, Fond 130, fasc. 607, p. 14.
4 See footnote 3.
5 ‘Tito bez protokola Energoinvest’, 17.11.1966. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWnl8CQpGa8
6 ‘Consensus for Market Economy, Legal State and Democratic Society’, Statement by Ante Marković on the occasion of the review of the Programme of economic reform and measures for its implementation in 1990 at the joint session of the Federal Chamber and Chamber of Republics and Provinces of the SFRY Assembly on December 18, 1989, in: Federal Executive Council Secretariat for Information, ed. Yugoslav Changes, p. 94
7 Šavić, N. (1990). Prestrukturiranje, Razvojni Ciklus i Privatizacija u Jugoslaviji. In Šavić, N (Ed.) Prestrukturiranje, Razvojni Ciklus i Privatizacija [Restructuring, Development Cycle and Privatisation] (pp. 1–15). Zbornik Radova Jugoslovenskih Ekonomista Za Savetovanje, 8–10 Maj 1990, Brioni. Beograd: Savez Ekonomista Jugoslavije, 1990, p. 5.
8 Such as the magazine Direktor: časopis za teoriju i praksu rukovođenja i upravljanja [Director: Magazine for the theory and praxis of leadership and management].
9 Within Yugoslavia, Republics were categorised according to their level of development, based on calculations of GDP pro-capita and growth rate. Slovenia and Croatia being the most ‘developed’, whilst the autonomous region of Kosovo and Macedonia were considered ‘underdeveloped’. In this categorisation, Bosnia stood somewhat in the middle.
10 Republički Komitet za Odnose sa Inostranstvo, Izvještaj o Radu u 1988. Godini [Republican Committee for Foreign Relations, Report on Works of 1988], Sarajevo, Januar 1989 godine, pp. 14-15. Folder 47 Zapisnici sa sjednice RSMO (1-6), Državni Arhiv Bosne i Hercegovine. Here, Energoinvest is mentioned together with UNIS as the largest company responsible for cooperation and export.
11 ‘140 Najvećih proizvodnih preduzeća industrije i rudarstva, poljoprivrede, šumarstva i građevinarstva prema ukupnom prihodu u 1989. Godini’ [140 Largest companies of indutrial, mining, agriculture, forestry and construction sector according to total income in 1989], Ekonomska Politika, num. 2008, 24 September 1990, p. 4.
12 As Četkovic shows, however, this Bank, like most of the financial institutions in Yugoslavia, became increasingly reliant on foreign credit, especially throughout the 1980s.
13 ‘U reformu – bez odlaganja’, Energoinvest List, num. 944, November 21 1988, p. 2.
14 Of these, Energoinvest was the owner of at least 51% of the overall capital.
15 Agreements between JUBMES, Fond solidarnosti sa nesvrstanim zemljama i zemljama u razvoju [Solidarity Fund for non-aligned countries and developing countries], and the Bangladesh Power Development Board for the electrification of villages, to be carried out in Bangladesh by Energoinvest. JUBMES, Fond 782, fasc 1209, 1968 (Arhiv Jugoslavije). Fond 782, fasc 1215; Agreements between the Bank, Energoinvest and the Ethiopian Electric Light and Power Authority for the construction of hidroelectric plants in Ethiopia. JUBMES, Fond 782, fasc 1217, 1983-1988 (Arhiv Jugoslavije).
16 Svijet cijeni poslovnost i kvalitet. Energoinvest List; num. 946, December 12 1988, p. 2. In 1981, the US Magazine ‘Engineering News Record’ listed Energoinvest, Energoprojekt, and other three large Yugoslav enterprises amongst the top 250 most prominent in the world. Yugoslav News, Yugoslav Press and Cultural Centre, New York, December 10 1982, p. 2.
17 ‘10 Najvećih proizvodnih Organizacija Udruženog Rada u oblasti industrija i rudarstva poljoprivrede i šumarstva i građevinarstva’ [10 Largest companies in the area of industry, mining, agriculture, forestry and construction], Ekonomska Politika, num. 1849, 7 September 1987, p. 5, p. 45.
18 Yugoslav News, Yugoslav Press and Cultural Centre, New York, December 10 1982, p. 2
19 Amila Omersoftić, Interview with author, Sarajevo, 02.07.2014.
20 140 Najvećih proizvodnih preduzeća industrije i rudarstva, poljoprivrede, šumarstva i građevinarstva prema ukupnom prihodu u 1989. Godini», Ekonomska Politika, No. 2008, September 24 1990; Burck, Gilbert. ‘A Socialist Enterprise That Acts Like a Fierce Capitalist Competitor’, Fortune Magazine, January 1972.
21 On this cooperation, and on the strategies Yugoslav enterprises employed to reconcile ‘market’ and ‘socialism’, see Calori and Spaskovska (forthcoming, Citation2020). While it is beyond the purpose of this paper to evaluate the functionings of the Yugoslav system of self-management, it should be noted that frictions between workers and management board became increasingly strong throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, and thus the internal re-organisation proposed by McKinsey was no necessarily viewed by workers as a solution to such imbalances.
22 ‘Otkloniti sve što samoupravljanje čini neefikasnim’, Energoinvest List, num. 973, July 3 1989, p. 5.
23 ‘Praktična primjena ideje nesvrstanosti.’ Energoinvest list, no. 884, July 13 1987, p. 2
24 Žarko Primorac, Interview with author, Zagreb, 16.03.2016.
25 Marković, A. ‘Changes in the Yugoslav Social System to Meet the Needs of Society’, statement at the joint session of the Federal Chamber and the Chamber of Republics and Provinces of the Assembly of the SFRY on the occasion of the election of the President of the Federal Executive Council on March 16, 1989, Federal Executive Council Secretariat for Information, ed. Yugoslav Changes, p. 37.
26 Magnetofonski Snimak Sjednice Republickog Društvenog Savjeta za Međunarodne Odnose [Recording of the Assembly of the Republic Social Council for Interanational Relations], 3 March 1989, p. 73. Folder 47 Zapisnici sa sjednice RSMO (1-6), Državni Arhiv Bosne i Hercegovine.
27 Rezime osnovnih mišjlenja, stavova i ocjena iznesenih u raspravi o Aktuelnim Kretanjima u Socijalističkim Zemljama Evrope i Njihovom Uticaju na Savremene Međunarodne Odnose na Sjednici Savjeta [Resume of the basic opinions, views and evaluations presented at the discussion on the Actual developments of socialist countries in Europe and their impact on contemporary internaitonal relations], 25 April 1989. Godine, pp. 16–17. Republički Društveni Savjet za Međunarodne Odnose [Republic Social Council for Interanational Relations], Folder 47 Zapisnici sa sjednice RSMO (1-6), Državni Arhiv Bosne i Hercegovine.
28 ‘Ni u svijetu nije med i mlijeko’, Energoinvest list, num. 980, September 18 1989, p. 2.
29 Manoharan, M. Non-Aligned Movement at odds over Yugoslavia, Independent, Monday 31 August 1992 (Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/Non-AlignedNon-Aligned-movement-at-odds-over-yugoslavia-1580470.html last access 24 November 2019).
30 ‘Enterprise Policy Performance Assessment and Herzegovina.’ OECD, EBRD, Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, March 2005, pp. 7–8; ‘Bosnia and Herzegovina: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper—Mid-Term’. IMF Country Report, April 2004. IMF, pp. 62–63; on entrepreneurship in East and Central Europe, see Tchalakov and Jouko (2013).
31 ‘Ralph Johnson, prvi zamjenik Visokog Predstavnika u BiH’. Privatizacija. Stručni Časopis Agencije Za Privatizaciju u Federaciji Bosne i Hercegovine,num. 10/11, July 2000, p. 5; see also Speech by Principal Deputy High Representative Donald Hays at the USAID-sponsored SME Donor Roundtable, Sarajevo, 7 April 2004, OHR Archive. http://www.ohr.int/?p=46231; ‘‘Ohrabren sam, ali ne i zadovoljan. Privatizacija. Stručni Časopis Agencije Za Privatizaciju u Federaciji Bosne i Hercegovine, num 10/11, July 2000, p. 8; Special credits were provided for this purpose, see OHR Economic Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 1, February 1999.
32 For a detailed discussion of North-South imbalances and the construction of development policies, see Escobar (Citation1995).
33 ‘‘Project Appraisal Document on a Proposed Credit in the Amount of SDR 15.6 Million (US$19.8 Million Equivalent) to Bosnia and Herzegovina for a Privatization Technical Assistance.’’ Private and Financial Sectors Development Unit South East Europe Country Unit Europe and Central Asia Region. 31 May 2001: The World Bank, Table 2, p. 5.
34 OHR Economic Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 6, October 2000.
35 ‘Implementation Completion and Results Report on a Credit in the Amount of SDR 15.60 Million (US$19.80 Million Equivalent) to Bosnia and Herzegovina for a Privatization Technical Assistance Credit.’ IDA-35310. World Bank Private and Financial Sector Development Unit South East Europe Country Unit Europe and Central Asia Region, March 21, 2007, p. 8.
36 Hasan Muratović, Interview with author, Sarajevo, 13.12.2016.
37 ‘Visok ugled u zemlji i svijetu’, Energoinvest List, Num. 1098, March 2000, p. 2.
38 Anto Domazet, Interview with author, Sarajevo, 05.04.2016.
39 ‘Cetiri bh. koraka do prokletstva’, Oslobođenje, January 1 2004, p. 7.
40 Recently, the company signed an agreement with the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited for the construction of a transmission network linking Tanzania and Kenya. https://www.sarajevotimes.com/new-business-energoinvest-tanzania-worth-53-million-dollars/ (Accessed on 24 November 2019).
41 ‘Nastavak uspješnog poslovanja’, Energoinvest List, Num. 1155, June 2010, p. 3.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Anna Calori
Anna Calori has recently completed her PhD in contemporary History at the University of Exeter, as part of the Leverhulme Trust-funded project ‘1989 after 1989 – Rethinking the Fall of State Socialism in Global Perspective’. She is currently a research fellow at the Global and European Studies Institute, University of Leipzig. Her post-doctoral project ‘Bringing the global back home: Developing ‘socialist entrepreneurialism’ and (re)making the workplace in a global perspective (1961–2008)’ seeks to analyse Yugoslavia’s engagement in the global economy from the perspective of large industrial workplaces and their workers. She has also worked in the NGO-sector in Kosovo, and more recently at the International Labour Organisation in Geneva.