Punk and Social Change

Cora Westhoff

There are many ways to analyze nationalism in Yugoslavia in the 1980’s. At this time, the country was still learning how to cope with the loss of the leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the charismatic Josip Broz Tito. With this loss came many changes in politics, culture and community. One of these was the birth of punk and New Wave music. In particular, “[i]ncreased familiarity with the West is what helped the radicalization of the youth movement, and the growth of the hippie and punk movements.” (Lydiya).

Punk at times embraced the idea of the national identity while rearticulating the multicultural essence of the country. Punk rock in particular was influential in capturing how the country’s youth felt at this time. However, as punk became more popular, it increasingly became more critical of the communist state. (Kenney). Slowly, people began to leave behind collectivist social notions and were more interested in expressing individualism (Lydiya).

Punk was used to criticize the Yugoslav establishment by ironized it. As a counterculture movement, punk pointed out the contradictions of society. This was especially the case in Slovenia: “By upending the traditional virtues, Slovene counterculture found a way to disarm this weapon with ridicule and so undermine communist ideology thoroughly” (Kenney). In some case, it also used the slogan of brotherhood and unity as a tool to combine national identities in Yugoslav while criticizing the one party system. Although, Punk did not endorse nationalism, it played a large role in liberalizing society and delegitimizing the communist state. (Keneney).

Throughout history, music has changed the lives of countless people and left a lasting influence in societies across the world. Punk music shaped the way Yugoslavia viewed identity and commented on the social and political changes that took place in the 1980s: “The punks carved out their own independence that benefited others as well. It opened up the space of experiment with other social movements” (Kenney). 

Bibliography

Ramet, Sabrina P. Social Currents in Eastern Europe the Sources and Meaning of the Great Transformation. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1991 

Kenney, Padraic, A Carnival of Revolution: Central Europe 1989. Princeton University Press, 2003

Lydiya. "Slovenian Punk: A Brief Introduction." MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL. N.p., 28 Oct. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

Slovenia: Evolving Loyalties: Postcommunist States and Nations, by John K. Cox, Routledge, 2004

Dazed. "Unearthing Yugoslavia's lost punk rock scene." Dazed. N.p., 19 Aug. 2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2017.

Ashleigh Kane, D. (2015, August 19). Unearthing Yugoslavia's lost punk rock scene. Retrieved April 15, 2017,