“We seek to ‘bring class back in’ to (post-) Yugoslav historiography …” (2), state Rory Archer, Igor Duda, and Paul Stubbs in the introduction to the edited volume entitled Social Inequalities and Discontent in Yugoslav Socialism. According to the editors, the publication has two aims: first, to explore the role of class in presumably classless and socialist Yugoslavia; and second, to examine the role of class in the process of Yugoslavia's dissolution, which has been assumed to mainly be grounded in ethno-nationalist factors. Following the introduction, the edited volume contains nine contributions that cover a rather broad selection of Yugoslav topics, mainly touching upon Croatian and Serbian contexts while underrepresenting topics related to other republics, especially Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the first essay, Ana Dević reviews several studies pertaining to the social, economic, and cultural dimensions of the Yugoslav crisis. She claims that popular discontent initiated the dissolution of Yugoslavia and that this discontent was grounded in growing youth unemployment (not valid for Slovenia), deteriorating living standards, lack of social mobility, and corruption of elites rather than inter-ethnic hostilities during everyday life. Perhaps this claim would be even more convincing if she addressed the findings of the study published in 1986 by Silva Mežnarić, who argued that social distance among different ethnic groups, specifically between Slovenians and Bosnians working in Slovenia, can be considered ethno-nationalist in nature. Mežnarić proposes that ethno-nationalism was a consequence of social and perhaps existing class inequalities between the two (ethnic) groups, however. A similar argument is employed by Julija Sardelić. She focuses on the Roma minority in Slovenia, claiming that their unequal social position should be interpreted as resulting from socio-economic rather than ethnic differences. The focus on Slovenia is indeed crucial in disputing class and inequality-related issues: Slovenia was the most developed republic in Yugoslavia, and the socio-economic status of Slovenians was considerably higher in comparison to that of other republics. In this respect, it becomes nearly impossible to discuss class without considering the vast differences among republics as well as the heterogeneity of Yugoslav society. A considerable corpus of Slovenian scholarly literature has dealt with related issues but unfortunately remains largely ignored by the contributors of this edited volume.

One essay certainly worthy of attention is that on Yugoslav Kosovo, written by Isabel Ströhle, as it addresses a rather neglected topic. Mostly relying on existing scholarly literature, the author examines the formation of the rural underclass in Kosovo, again questioning the idea that ethnicity was a primary motivator of regional struggles. The author explores the emergence of an ethnically Albanian underclass in rural areas of Kosovo that suffered as a result of the 1980s economic crisis and that was excluded from the benefits of socialist modernization. Ströhle claims that the latter phenomenon is one of the factors that accelerated ethno-political radicalization in the 1980s.

In the essay by Brigitte Le Normand, the phenomenon of gasterbajteri (Yugoslav migrant workers) is explored. By analyzing the phenomenon of gasterbajteri, the author discloses an important and broader economic-political issue related to the status of capitalist consumerism in Yugoslav society. A similar issue is addressed in the last essay of the edited volume written by Igor Duda, who analyzes the popular Croatian fictional TV series Naše malo misto. Both authors examine the social stratification among Yugoslavs in relation to an emerging consumer society that clashed with the opposing ideals of a genuine socialist society “unspoiled” by western capitalism. While Duda examines the hypocritical characters of Naše malo misto, considering them to be a symptom of the abovementioned clash, Le Normand prizes low-skilled migrant workers as potential avant-garde actors, evidencing their undermining of “communist ideology” (44) and of “the legitimacy of the Yugoslav state” (54).

Rory Archer explores social inequality and working-class discontent by analyzing access to housing in Belgrade. Like the majority of authors in this edited volume, Archer relies on secondary sources, such as media, scholarly literature, and historical sources to show how the allocation of socially-owned housing created conditions in which poor manual workers were forced to rely on the costly private housing market. Another essay focusing on Serbia was written by Goran Musić, who analyzes the role of Serbian blue-collar workers in the social mobilization that occurred in the late 1980s. This essay is perhaps the most complex, addressing how blue-collar workers brought attention to a series of controversial political issues in the late 1980s. Meanwhile, Jana Bacevic offers insight into the introduction of vocation-oriented education, showing how educational reform sought to reverse the reproduction of class inequalities. Finally, Ana Herzog and Polona Sitar touch upon gender perspectives through delving into the social positioning of female folk singers. The authors explore the dual and biased nature of female celebrity music stars who, on one hand, were expected to adapt to the role of a morally acceptable “ideal of socialist femininity” while, on the other, to perform the role of pop star framed within westernized narratives of consumerism and celebrity culture.

Together, these essays unanimously aim to demonstrate that class, discontent, and inequality are strongly connected with ethno-nationalism and are necessary for understanding Yugoslav socialism. Along these lines, the edited volume indeed represents a critical engagement with the apologetic image of Yugoslavia as a classless and equal society. It feels unjust, however, to explore socialist inequality without considering the post-socialist neoliberal paradigm that was greatly embraced by post-Yugoslav countries following the transition period. The impacts of the neoliberal model on the welfare state, class differentiation, poverty, gender inequalities, housing access, unemployment, and social rights, as well as other issues, are profound in comparison to those of the socialist system. Under this consideration, interpreting the disintegration of Yugoslavia on the basis of specific and particular case studies focusing on “class” differences, especially given the lack of a consistent theoretical framework for defining the notion of class, seems slightly unconvincing. The absence of a clear and consistent understanding of class and inequality is perhaps the biggest weakness of this edited volume. In addition, the interpretation of privileged communist party bureaucrats, gasterbajteri, or Kosovar peasants as exemplary of social classes remains theoretically under-addressed. Therefore, the primary question of what makes a social group a class remains unanswered.