THE TOWN OF SPLIT DURING THE 1980s: SOCIAL CONFLICTS IN THE TWILIGHT OF YUGOSLAV SOCIALIST SELF-MANAGEMENT The aim of this book is to present central events as well as social conflicts that took place in the Croatian coastal town of Split during the last decade of communist rule. The beginning of this decade was marked by the death of Yugoslav resident Josip Broz Tito in 1980, while the end was marked by the first democratic multiparty elections in Croatia, held in spring of 1990, when the communists lost the power. During the 1980s, Split was an important administrative and economic center of the Croatian coastal region Dalmatia. It was the second largest town in Croatia, and the seventh largest in Yugoslavia. The municipality of Split was the largest municipality in the whole of Yugoslavia. The first part of the books deals with the socio-political organization, the main social groups, as well as with the basic features of socialist self-management along with ther main social and political institutions and relations. The second part of the book concentrates on the economy of Split, its main problems, some important features of the working class and its behavior, as well as on the problems of nemployment. The third part of the book deals with certain social problems of Split during the 1980s, namely the problem of housing, which was a consequence of the rapid increase in the population of the city and municipality, as well as with the certain elements of crime and environmental problems. The fourth and the last part of the book deals with how the communist system in Split dealt with its main political opponents, namely with the Croatian nationalists and the Catholic Church. This section also explains how conflicts at the level of the Yugoslav federation affected the situation in Split, as well as how the communists ultimately lost power in the first democratic multi-party elections.