A Personality Cult Transformed: The Evolution of T ito's Image in Serbian and C roatian Textbooks, 1974–2010

Mass media have traditionally played a significant role in creating and maintaining romanticized images of political leaders. J osip B roz T ito was particularly successful in maintaining his public image and using it as an anchor for a ‘united’ Y ugoslavia, despite many controversies and inconsistencies. After the collapse of communism and almost thirty years after his death, his personality cult still persists in countries of the former Y ugoslavia, albeit to a varying extent and utilizing different kinds of discourse. This article examines the influence of the media on the creation and maintenance of T ito's personality cult, via the medium of history textbooks in Serbia and C roatia. It utilizes content analysis of textbook discourse across three time periods: during T ito's rule, during the conflicts of the 1990s, and in contemporary textbooks up through 2010, resulting in a systematic comparative study of the evolution of T ito's personality cult across time and space.