Expert Designs or Fragile Understanding? The Competence of American Diplomacy and Influence in the Creation of the First Yugoslav State
Keywords:
Yugoslavia, United States, formation, Peace Conference, Wilson, creation, Serbia, inquiryAbstract
This paper analyzes the extent of American involvement in the creation of Yugoslavia and, more importantly, answers the question of whether the attempt of American statesmen at the creation of a united South-Slav state following the conclusion of the Great War was well-executed and based on thorough research and planning, or if it was engaged with a series of swift and rash decisions based in incompetence and a lack of adequate information of the region, its people, and its politics. I will include an analysis of the circumstances of the Western Balkans just prior to and during the occurrence of the Great War; and, more relevantly, the ideological and strategic reasons for which the United States engaged itself in the creation of the First Yugoslavia, as examining both are necessary in analyzing how these motivations demonstrated either the thoughtfulness or neglect of the American policymakers involved. I conclude that American involvement in the creation of Yugoslavia, while lacking complete thoroughness, was in many places significantly well-informed, though it did allow for the incorporation of paradoxes and weaknesses into the new state that would prove fatal in the long-term existence of the country.
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