State-Sponsored ‘Solidarity Weeks’,1967–87: The Home Front of Yugoslav Humanitarian Internationalism

Abstract

From the mid-1950s onwards, socialist Yugoslavia provided humanitarian assistance to over twenty liberation movements, particularly in Africa. Although authorities officially presented this support as a grassroots initiative, it was orchestrated and directed by the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia (SSRNJ). This ‘socio-political organization’ mobilized citizens around campaigns that were ostensibly focused on collecting material aid for liberation movements. To ensure broad public participation in these state-led solidarity efforts, Yugoslav media played a crucial role in promoting the campaigns at the federal, national, and local levels. The article examines the domestic dimension of Yugoslavia's annual ‘Solidarity Week’ campaigns (1967–1987) as a mechanism for fostering an internationalist consciousness among its citizens. These humanitarian campaigns were an integral part of Yugoslavia's broader support for anti-colonial liberation movements, reflecting its non-aligned foreign policy and shaping the country's internationalist identity. Rooted in Yugoslavia's partisan legacy and enshrined in its constitution, the nation's commitment to anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism was framed as both a moral and legal imperative. To capture Yugoslavia's distinctive approach to solidarity, which framed anti-colonial struggles as humanitarian concerns, this study adopts the concept of ‘humanitarian internationalism.’ By analysing how Yugoslavia's humanitarian practices influenced both domestic society and its global engagement, the article contributes to the broader scholarship on socialist humanitarianism.