as an independent political group. They demanded the restriction of the prince's power, the establishment of governmental rule, and the codification of human rights both in the civil and economic spheres. Jovanović was also deeply involved when the liberals first wavered and gave up much of their original program and principles, accepting the autocracy of the Obrenović princes, who were restored to power at the request of the National Assembly. The liberals were convinced that the most effective way of achieving their ultimate goals of liberating the Serb territories from Ottoman and Habsburg oppression and establishing an independent state was to have a prestigious dynasty and a strong, centralized power in the principality. Vladimir Jovanović drafted a Political Dictionary which was basically an encyclopedic summary of liberal ideas. The Dictionary was first published in Novi Sad, then under Austro-Hungarian rule, and written to popularize liberal ideas. It was considered the most ambitious and thorough liberal undertaking of the time, becoming "the Bible" for a new generation of liberal thinkers who started their career in the mid-1860s. The most typical characteristics of the so-called Omladina generation were that most of them had had a good foreign education (usually in Western Europe and Russia) and were all agreed on the need for the Serbs, who were scattered in four different states, to unite. Jovanović's book provided them with the guidelines they needed to accomplish the task. Unification, development, and Balkan hegemony: these were the most decisive elements of this philosophy. To justify these national aspirations, Jovanović resorted to Western type of liberalism, but wanted to adopt only those elements which were appropriate to their particular situation. Although his liberalism changed significantly over time, his philosophy had always been centered around the concept of nation. The effect of historical developments on his views may be demonstrated by the titles of his writings from different periods of time: The Base of the Power and Greatness of the Serbs was published in 1870 in Novi Sad, interpreting Serb history from a liberal point of view. The treatise, The Struggle for Life in Society between Nations was published under the aegis of the Serb Scientific Society in Belgrade in 1885, when Jovanović was already a recognized politician and an established political writer. Works In English: Serbian Nation and The Eastern Question, London: Bell and Daldy, 1863 In Serbian:Politički rečnik (Political Dictionary), Novi Sad & Belgrade, vol.