Croatia: In war's shadow

This abstract draws on findings from research deliverable D3.3 on transitions and postcolonialism, which has been submitted but is not yet published.It its written Ana Matan, University of Zagreb – Croatia.

Croatia’s ancien régime developed within socialist Yugoslavia, a distinct socialist system marked by non-alignment with the Soviet bloc, workers’ self-management, and a strong indigenous communist movement under its leader Tito. The SC was twofold: between the socialist regime and citizens, and among Yugoslavia’s constituent peoples and republics. While material progress and political stability secured broad support, especially in Croatia, consensus among the republics was rather fragile due to persistent national tensions. Opposition emerged mainly from within the Communist Party, through reformist, nationalist, or leftist critiques, with economic stagnation and interethnic conflicts gradually eroding legitimacy.

The transition to democracy began rapidly and peacefully in 1989-1990 but unfolded in an unfavorable Yugoslav context marked by Serbian nationalist mobilization. Croatia’s first multiparty elections centered on statehood rather than democratization, producing deep ethnic polarization. Independence in 1991 led to the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995), during which a nationalist “rally-around-the-flag” SC prevailed, excluding much of the Serbian minority and constraining democratic pluralism under semi-authoritarian leadership.

After 2000, Croatia entered a phase of democratic consolidation and Europeanization, with institutional reforms, peaceful transfers of power and EU accession in 2013. This period partially repaired minority relations, yet the post-accession years brought about political instability, polarization, and new left- and right-wing mobilizations, as a result of which Croatia’s political landscape changed, and earlier consensuses were challenged.