Looking Westward: The Rise of Consumer Society in Yugoslavia and Transnational Contact with Italy during the 1960s

This chapter investigates the role played by direct contact established with Italy in a process which led to the creation of a consumer society in Yugoslavia. This contribution will be analyzed from two perspectives. First, the dramatic increase in the circulation of commodities, individuals and influences between the two Adriatic countries made joint ventures, cultural borrowings and spontaneous consumer practices possible, with Italy imposing itself as a relatively acceptable model of modernity. Second, the opening up of the border turned it into a resource for the neighboring areas, drawing on the disparities in living standards and a high level of complementarity between the two economies, with interdependent practices and mutual values emerging between the two countries.