Between Blocs: Socialist Yugoslavia as a Pragmatic Player in the International Refugee Regime

This essay analyses how Yugoslavia’s unique geopolitical position between the blocs, after its 1948 split with Moscow, played out in its refugee policies. First, it investigates the way in which Yugoslavia evolved from taking in like-minded refugees in the early postwar period to being an exit point and haven for Soviet bloc refugees from the 1950s through to the 1970s. Second, it explores the dual role that Yugoslavia played as a transit country for escapees and as a producer of asylum seekers. It then shifts to the development of relations between Yugoslavia and the UNHCR, resulting in the re-opening of a UNHCR branch office in Belgrade in 1976. Finally, it offers insight into Yugoslavia’s attitude towards non-European refugees.