Between Solidarity and Security: Yugoslavia's Involvement With Palestinian International Terrorism

This thesis examines the nature and motivations behind Socialist Yugoslavia's (SFRY) engagement with the array of Palestinian non-state actors that emerged during the period of the rise of international terrorism, a subject that remains underexplored within Cold War and terrorism scholarship. Drawing on declassified diplomatic and intelligence documents from the Archives of Yugoslavia and the Diplomatic Archive of the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the research employs a qualitative study design to answer the central question: What was the nature of Yugoslavia's engagement with Palestinian insurgent and terrorist organizations at the height of Cold War international terrorism? The research concludes with the finding that Yugoslavia developed a strategic partnership with the Palestine Liberation Organization under the auspices of its non-aligned policy and the role of liberation supporter which it adopted in order to foster its global footprint. At the same time, the complex set of relationships Yugoslavia’s security service developed with Palestinian terrorist organizations outside the PLO umbrella is found to be dominantly founded on security and intelligence motivations, and less so on an ideological base, as evident on the basis of comparative organization. The findings are complementary to the recent scholarship that has been reassessing the nature of ties which European countries developed with violent non-state actors during the Cold War period. Given Yugoslavia’s specific position of a socialist country between the two blocs, the goal of this thesis is to position it within such debates by dissecting the policy dimensions and outcomes of its contact with international terrorism protagonists.