Objective
Socialist Yugoslavia’s experiment with workers’ self-management attracted global attention, yet a key aspect remains underexplored: the role of the private sector. The “privatnici” – self-employed workers and small business owners – occupied an ambiguous position between labour and capital, condemned as ‘speculators with their own labour’ yet also regarded as a potential solution to economic difficulties. Drawing on labour history and debates on regional and social inequalities in socialist Yugoslavia, PRIVAT-YU moves beyond the social-sector focus to introduce privatnici as a new research subject, offering the first comprehensive analysis of their lived experiences. Adopting an actor-centred approach, PRIVAT-YU investigates how privatnici negotiated with local authorities and adapted to shifting policies. Three case studies – farmers in central Serbia, tourist workers on the Croatian coast, and entrepreneurs in Kosovo – highlight regional diversity. The project pursues three objectives: 1) Archival research examines how federal perceptions of privatnici were reflected locally and how social differences (gender, class, rural/urban origin) shaped negotiations with local authorities. 2) Oral history traces entanglements between private and social sectors, asking how and why privatnici combined employment in both or moved between them. 3) Comparative analysis identifies variations across republics and links them to regional inequalities and to differing roles of the private sector. Conducted at the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS) in Regensburg and supervised by Prof. Ulf Brunnbauer, PRIVAT-YU advances the historiography of socialism and adds historical depth to debates on economic restructuring and small entrepreneurship amid today’s polycrisis and its EU dimension. PRIVAT-YU also supports the researcher’s career development, including a mid-term goal of securing an ERC grant and a long-term ambition of founding an institute in Slovenia.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
93047 Regensburg
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.