The Implications of the “New Course” Strategy

This article examines the political framework of “novi kurs” (“New Course”) from the beginning of the 20th century, its strategic aims and its function within the battle of different visions of a South Slavic state. The evidence shows that the new political direction contributed to the improvement of conflicting relations between Croats and Serbs, but, at the same time, it had a negative impact on the Croatian-Slovenian alliance along the Adriatic coast. In the context of the latter relation, the author analyses the reactions of Slovenians from Trieste and Primorska region who were supposed to be the collaterals due to what seemed to be an agreement between Serbs and Croats. However, although the “New Course” may be seen as long expected consensus between Croats and Serbs, a thorough analysis undermines that thesis. This became evident with the formation of two political factions within the Croatian-Serbian Coalition in which different views on the fundamental geopolitical parameters of the South Slavic state were developed.