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In:Geopolitics and Activism in Children’s and Young Adult Literature
Edited by Giuliana Fenech and Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak
[Children’s Literature, Culture, and Cognition 18] 2026
► pp. 64–79

Chapter 4
The hero called a pioneer

Constructing socialist citizens in Yugoslavia

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Established during World War I on the model of the Soviet Pioneer Organization, the Union of Pioneers of Yugoslavia cultivated socialist and patriotic values through extracurricular activities and collaboration with schools. Pioneers were expected to embody solidarity, brotherhood, collectivism, and loyalty to Tito. Yet childhood within this framework was neither uniform nor static: it navigated tensions between reproducing existing power structures and exercising agency that could challenge them. Seen through a global and transnational lens, Yugoslav childhood emerges as fluid, hybrid, and mobile, crossing geographic, cultural, and ideological borders while engaging in broader imaginaries of activism and socialist citizenship. Depictions of pioneer characters in war novels illustrate how children were imagined as political actors whose subjectivities developed across national and international discourses. Drawing on Bakhtin’s notion of dialogism, the chapter highlights the polyphony of voices — oscillating between conformity, activism, and resistance — that constituted socialist childhood. Situating these experiences at the intersection of politics, literature, and transnational flows, the analysis presents children as active agents rather than passive recipients of ideology.
Article outline
  • The history and domain of operation of the Union
    of Pioneers of Yugoslavia
  • Pioneer activities and social rituals
  • The school’s role in the process of politicization and cultural activities
  • The activist features of Yugoslav war prose for children and its role
    in the process of constructing a socialist citizen
  • Heroism, activism, and ideology
  • Conclusion
  • References
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