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Yugoslavia The Royal Dictatorship
After assuming dictatorial power, Aleksandar canceled civil
liberties, abolished local self-government, and decreed strict
laws against sedition, terrorism, and propagation of communism.
The king named a Serb, General Petar Zivkovic, as premier,
officially changed the name of the country to the Kingdom of
Yugoslavia, unified the six regional legal systems, and
restructured the ministries. The king attempted to ease
separatist pressures by replacing traditional provinces with a
new territorial unit, the banovina. The dictatorship at
first gained wide support because it seemed to make government
more efficient and less corrupt.
The popularity of the dictatorship was short-lived, however.
Aleksandar's attempt to impose unity on the ethnic groups
backfired, blocking the understanding of common national
interests and unleashing more divisive forces. The royal
dictatorship unified Croatian opposition to Serbian hegemony but
fractured the once-unified Serbian parties. The police violently
suppressed expressions of communism and ethnic dissidence. The
state imprisoned Slovenian and Muslim politicians and tried
Vlatko Macek, successor to Radic, for terrorist activity. Serbs
also were also oppressed, and the leader of the Serbian Democrats
left the country in protest. Ultranationalist Croats also fled,
and Italy granted asylum to Ante Pavelic, leader of the terrorist
Ustase (see Glossary).
In 1931 Aleksandar formally ended his personal rule by
promulgating a constitution that provided for limited democracy.
He legalized political parties but banned religious, ethnic, and
regional groups and all organizations that threatened the
integrity and order of the state. Hopelessly divided Serbian and
Croatian opposition leaders could not even agree to issue a
common statement on the new constitution. Only the candidates of
ivkovi appeared on the ballot. Serbs protested the limitations
on democratic liberties; the government imprisoned Macek, causing
unrest in Croatia; and the ranks of the Ustase grew. Despite the
discontent, Aleksandar retained some popularity even in nonSerbian regions.
In 1931 the world economic crisis hit Yugoslavia hard.
Foreign trade slumped, and the trade deficit rose. Collapsing
world grain prices, the end of German reparations payments, and
exhaustion of credit sources brought unemployment. Mines closed,
bankruptcies increased, and severe weather conditions brought
rural starvation. The economic crisis also brought charges that
the Serbs were exploiting Croatia and Slovenia. Finally, French
refusal of a badly needed loan shook the confidence of the
Yugoslav government in its French allies.
Fearing Italy but doubtful of France, Aleksandar made
unsuccessful offers to Mussolini in the early 1930s and attempted
to build a Balkan alliance. In 1934 Yugoslavia, Romania, Greece,
and Turkey signed a limited mutual defense agreement, later known
as the Balkan Pact. Bulgaria refused to abandon its claims to
Macedonia and did not join the pact, but tensions eased between
Belgrade and Sofia. Fearing a vengeful, stronger Germany, France
sought rapprochement with Italy in 1934, pressuring Yugoslavia to
do likewise. But Yugoslavia began to turn to Germany instead to
offset the threat from Italy.
Data as of December 1990
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