Abstract: The article presents and analyzes the Publishing House “Yugoslavia”, which operated from 1956 to 1962, and was primarily responsible for foreign propaganda and the promotion of socialist Yugoslavia around the world. Placed within the context of the global Cold War, the article provides an in-depth insight into the institution itself, its functioning, personnel policies, content, and main publications, while also revealing the entire system of Yugoslav propaganda abroad. The research is primarily based on numerous unpublished archival materials, which clearly indicate the significant role of the Publishing House “Yugoslavia” in promoting the country in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Keywords: Publishing House “Yugoslavia”, Yugoslav foreign propaganda, socialist Yugoslavia, publishing activities, institution history, Information Bulletin about Yugoslavia
Summary
In the mid-1950s, when the Yugoslav state gradually developed its own foreign policy doctrine of non-alignment, based on peaceful coexistence and equidistance from the blocs, a concrete need arose for active promotion of the country in the world, primarily to alleviate pressures coming from both the East and the West. In those moments, as one of the state’s responses, the Publishing House “Yugoslavia” was established, with the purpose of producing and disseminating various publications concerning Yugoslavia`s political, social, ideological, and cultural aspects. The Institute, which served as a link between the Secretariat for Information and other important state and party institutions on the one side, and embassies on the other, played a significant role within the system of global country promotion. However, it turned out that, in addition to certain irregularities detected before its closure, there was a serious lack of personnel, especially highly qualified ones, which definitively affected the quality of its work. One of the most important publications of the Publishing House “Yugoslavia” was the Information Bulletin about Yugoslavia (1956–1959), which was issued in several languages. The magazine was distributed worldwide, primarily through Yugoslav embassies, which systematically disseminated it. As the most representative periodical, the Information Bulletin about Yugoslavia covered almost all propaganda topics from the Institute’s repertoire, while a quantitative analysis demonstrated that the emphasis was on economic and social issues.