Tito’s Canossa or Pyrrhic victory? Yugoslavia and the 1976 Conference of Communist and Workers Parties of Europe

This paper explores Yugoslavia’s unexpected decision to participate in the 1976 Conference of Communist and Workers Parties of Europe, analysing the broader foreign policy context that shaped its engagement. The Yugoslav leadership viewed the conference as an opportunity to assert their core foreign policy principles within the European communist movement. Closely aligned with the Italian Communist Party, Belgrade played a key role in shaping the final document, which formally promoted the autonomy of national communist parties. The conference was widely seen as a success for the so-called autonomist bloc, but this victory proved temporary. The article concludes that while the conference was a symbolic milestone for Yugoslav foreign policy, it ultimately represented a Pyrrhic victory in the broader struggle for autonomy within the communist movement.