On September 19 and 20, 2024, the Centre for Humanities of ZRS Koper hosted an international academic conference focusing on the economic aspects of Yugoslav non-alignment. The event was jointly organised by researchers from the Institute for Historical Studies ZRS Koper and the Research Platform for the Study of Transformations in Eastern Europe, which is part of the University of Vienna.
The conference presented a series of empirical studies on Yugoslav economic projects in non-aligned partner countries, which also resulted from field research, e.g. in Zambia. The aim of the conference was to include discussions on related projects of “world-making” that emerged either as a negation of or as a supplement to the rules and norms of the prevailing post-war liberal system. Participants from 15 countries from three continents reported on the experiences of peripheral states in sensitive phases of their history, especially after gaining political independence and striving for economic autonomy.
The presentations covered topics such as the development of local industries, the modernization of agriculture, international aid, technology transfers and the resolution of debt problems. These key problems, which emerged in the 1980s as significant obstacles to harmonious development in post-colonial countries, are still crucial challenges for building economic alliances between the countries of the Global South today.




The event was part of the ARIS project led by Dr. Jure Ramšak entitled “Being European and Anti-Colonial: The Utopian Realism of Yugoslav Non-Aligned Internationalism”,” number (J6-50187).
