National Romanticism: The Formation of National Movements

Ilija Garašanin: The draft

ILIJA GARAŠANIN: THE DRAFT Title: Načertanije (The Draft) Originally published: The text, commonly known as the Načertanije, was written in 1844 but for long kept in secrecy; it was first published in 1906, as “Program spoljne politike Ilije Garašanina na koncu 1844. godine,” (The foreign policy program of Ilija Garašanin at the end of 1844), ed. by Milenko Vukićević, in: Delo, vol. 38, No.1, 1906, pp. 321– 336 Language: Serbian The excerpts are from a transcript of the original text published in Radoš Ljušić, Knjiga o Načertaniju, (Beograd: Beogradski izdavačko-grafički zavod, 1993), pp. 151–166. An English translation is also available in P. N. Hehn, “The Origins of Modern Pan-Serbianism – The 1844 Nacertanije of Ilija Garasanin: An Analysis and Translation,” East European Quarterly, 1975, IX (2), pp. 153–171. About the author Ilija Garašanin [1812, Garaši (Central Serbia) – 1874, Belgrade]: politician. He was born into a merchant family. His original family name was Savić, but he took the name Garašanin after his native village. He opted for a military career during the reign of Miloš Obrenović (r. 1817–1839, 1858–1860). His father and brother were politically engaged on the side of the so-called Ustavobranitelji (Constitutionalists). Garašanin, too, entered politics and was among those prominent politicians expelled from Serbia in 1840 after Mihajlo Obrenović (r. 1840–1842 and 1860–1868) came to power. After appealing for protection to the Ottoman authorities in Belgrade, some of the exiles were sent to Vidin (present-day Bulgaria) and others, including members of the Gara šanin family, were directed to Istanbul. Under pressure from the Ottomans, Austrians and Russians, Prince Mihajlo and the ‘Constitutionalists’ made peace, and the majority of the émigrés, Ilija Garašanin among them, returned to Serbia at the end of 1841. The Constitutionalists actively participated in overthrowing Mihajlo Obrenović and establishing the rival Karađorđević dynasty in 1842. The regime which they subsequently established was marked by the almost complete dominance of a state bureaucratic oligarchy in which Ilija Garašanin played a key role, first as Minister of the Interior from 1843 until 1852 and later as President of the State Council (the Serbian government) and Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, he was dismissed from the position in 1853 ILIJA GARAŠANIN: THE DRAFT 239 at the request of the Russians who considered his policy to be pro-French. After several dynastic conflicts, Prince Mihajlo Obrenović appointed him Prime Minister in 1861. In the following years Garašanin worked on the solidification of the regime of the ruling dynasty inside the country. In foreign policy he followed the strategic lines laid down in his Načertanije and accommodating the anti-Ottoman intrigues of the ambitious prince. Because of his opposition to the prince’s marriage plans he was dismissed from his position and left politics. He died in Belgrade in 1874. Context Načertanije represents the carefully elaborated draft of a Serbian foreign policy program. It consists of an introductory part followed by two chapters entitled ‘The policy of Serbia’ and ‘Which means could be used to achieve the goal of Serbian policy?’ The Introduction and the first part represent the core of the document where the basic ideas about the future expansion of the Serbian state are presented. In the latter part of the document, basic ideas about the Serbian propaganda policy are outlined. Načertanije is the first written national program in Serbia. It was kept secret until 1888 when it was for the first time publicly referred to, in Milan Đ. Milićević’s book Pomenik znamenitih ljudi u srpskog naroda novijeg doba (Album of the important figures among the Serbs in modern times). Milićevi ć claimed that Garašanin’s policy in office was guided by the ideas presented in the Načertanije, even though the existence of such a document was at that time known only to a few and it remained unpublished until 1906. From the moment of its publication, this document has been the focus of scholarly and political interest, provoking controversy and rival interpretations . It is certainly one of the most contested documents of nineteenthcentury Serbian history. In spite of opposing interpretations as to the political goals embodied in this document, historians agree on one fundamental point: that Načertanije represents the basic programmatic political document of nineteenth-century Serbian history. It was written at a time shortly following the restoration of...