After World War II, the newly federated Yugoslav government promised equality to the country's many different ethnic and religious groups. The 1974 Constitution guaranteed every citizen his or her free expression of belonging to a "nation" or "nationality," the free expression of his or her ethnic culture, and the freedom to use its language or script. As a result, many injustices were eliminated, as the example of the Macedonians attests. They, like many other groups, have experienced a rebirth of national and cultural identity. All problems, however, have not been eliminated. The quality of life for Albanians living in the province of Kosovo has improved radically, and they are well represented in local government. But with the consequent rise in Albanian nationalism, problems were created for other minority groups occupying the same province: Affirmative action programs intended to assist the Albanians resulted in reverse discrimination against Serbs, Turks, and other groups. Gypsies represent another problem. The Yugoslav Constitution does not recognize them as an ethnic group, and they belong to the poorest sector of Yugoslav society. The Gypsies declare themselves Yugoslavs and should therefore be accorded nationality status, with all accompanying constitutional rights. Affirmative action programs in education and employment, aimed at improving the lot of Gypsies and other groups with no consititutional status, are important. Thus, despite its pretensions to ideological and political homogeneity, Yugoslav society is conflictive, and measures taken to date do not mean that the present situation is satisfactory. (KH)