Genesis and development of a national vanguard. The role of political elites in the creation of independent Slovenia.
Keywords:
Slovenia, independence, elite, Yugoslavia, disolutionAbstract
Among the Yugoslav post-communist transitions, it was Slovenia that found the clearest path to achieving its national aspirations. The consensus and agreements between the political elites of the republic, although imperfect and not always explicit, were fundamental for Slovenia to achieve its independence after its proclamation on June 25, 1991, avoiding physical damage and large losses. of lives involved in the wars in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. These consensuses managed to politically homogenize the Slovenian population, with the purpose of giving legitimacy to the sovereignty process that was underway. The most important result of this dynamic was the referendum held on December 23, 1990, in which the Slovenians said yes to the creation of a sovereign and independent State by a very large majority, in line with the nationalist approaches on which The political life of the republic was then turning.
The importance of such consensus and agreements among the Slovenian elites emerged strongly when the leaders had to maneuver in the face of the external obstacles that they encountered on the path to independence. This can be seen through the analysis of three key aspects for the success of the Slovenian independence process: the national regrouping in the Slovenian spring, the institutional projection of the new consensus in the amendments to the Slovenian constitution in 1989 and the implementation of the decisions to establish the new State. At stake were, in addition to the social support necessary to achieve independence, the objective possibilities of carrying it out. In each of these critical moments, in addition, the elites adjusted important aspects of the rules of the political game, adapted to the standards of Western liberal democracies.
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