How Europeanization Influenced the Political System of Croatia

Introduction

Background

Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in1991afer a free elections in1990. Franjo Tudjman had won against communist opponents in the elections. Almost immediately, the army of the broken Yugoslavia attacked Croatia in a bid to take over the country again a war that lasted four years. Elections of 2000 sees the entry of president Stipe Mesic who is greatly associated with the developments that have erupted I  the nation of Croatia including regional cooperation and national healing strategies  (BBC News ).

General Political State after Independence

The politics that ran Croatia were marred by corruption and nepotism as was later uncovered by President Stipe Mesic, who won the elections promising the end of such systems in the government and promise reforms. His goal was to enter Croatia in to the EU. He uncovered conspiracies that saw the privatization of companies without them being open to the public implying a deep rooted corruption (Gall).

 Political State 

Croatia was oppressed under Tito who employed communism to rule the nation. Franjo Tudjman later to be first a nationalist president served as a military man with this army and later on grew to be against the communist regime. He landed in jail and served a period. At this point of his life, he was a professor (Plotz). Tudjman is associated with the struggle of Croatia’s independence and her finding her footing among other nations and eventual recognition by the European Union (Sadkovich). However, his regime is remembered with memories of the war with Yugoslavian army which led to the loss of many lives. Also, he is associated with the ethnical clensing wich saw muslims persecuted by the majority christian population .

Institutions and Unions: European Union

The idea of the union was started with the European Economic Community in 1957 and has from then developed rapidly with the joining of more member states. It has grown to be the most respected regional union in the world. Its policies of development and democracy make it popular among the citizens of member states and others around the world. In 2012, EU won the Nobel Prize for the most creative company/ institution that empowers and develops nations in its region.

What took Croatia a long Time to Rise the Occasion.

First issue that arose was its stability and lack of involvement with security organizations and/or economic groups. Secondly, the nation had not resolved issues with the neighboring states with which it is linked to numerous war crimes during the 90s that ended up with a cleansing civil war against Muslims. Finally, the Croatia had its own internal problems such as the dictatorship of the president in a coalition government (Cierco 178). This is a hindrance to the effect that up to 2000 when the regime was changed by popular vote, the people implicated to these were not persecuted yet. Also, the debt ratio to GDP has remained high reaching 80% by 2014. This is worrying especially considering that Croatia’s population is mainly consisted of young nation building individuals who are unemployed due to the state of the national economy (The Economist).

 Croatia joins Union Nations  

Croatia has been determinedly moving things towards this goal especially after the election of the coalition government of 2000 who were pro-integration. Finally, Croatia applied for membership with EU in 2003. The following year, 2004, it was granted candidateship following which negotiations begun in October 2005 (Guerra). These fast moves by the EU are associated with Craotia submission to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) (Peskin and Boduszyński 1136). This union with other nations is a good move politically because it shelters the nation against political attacks from its neighbors and it sets an example for other nations that have not yet joined. However, it begs the question whether the nation will withstand the turbulence expected with the ICTY prosecutions of war criminals durin this stage of democratization. The move by the EU commission to take Croatia in was hailed y member states who saw this an opportunity to draw in more states into the union (Lindstrom).      

Problem definition / Research question

Croatia is bound to benefit from the integration into the European Union (EU) as it will benefit from the laws numerous benefits enjoyed by member states of the EU. However, the integration of Croatia will have implications to the country as it has to align to the rules of EU member states. There lie two possible alternative outcomes in the political arena of Croatia. One, there is beneficial reforms in the political system in respect to the changes made and two, there is rejection of required changes as they collide with the current political system’s core values and principles.

Political stability and soundness is vital in all countries and the joining of Croatia into a regional group might play role in the turnout of its politics.  

Value of the Research

Development and growth of a nation’s societal, economical and political sectors is driven by globalization or in this context expanding of boundaries or reach. Croatia has achieved this through directives such as joining the EU and adjusting local laws. This report hopes to fill a knowledge gap in the literature available on politics post Franjo Tudjman rule in Croatia. This paper will be used for research purposes and serve as a practice sample as well as help develop critiquing skill.

Chapter 2

Literature Review

Incentives for Joining; Advantages of being a member state 

Such a great international leap by Croatia must be motivate by certain benefits that its citizens and the government see necessary or want to benefit from. These benefits are experienced by all member states of the EU. They include;

Economic benefits. The single market is a policy that drives member states to realize big profits in business transactions and also leap cheap transactional charges on international forums. Croatia has realised some of these benefits as its inflation falls, employment rises and fagging of the private and public sectors is evident (Euronews).

Political benefits. This entails the strengthening of democracy, human rights implementations and benefitting from EU policing which eliminates crimes that are trans-border. This tightens the regional powers of a nation shielding it from possible interference by hostile neighbours. As is the case for Croatia, there still holds grudges and threats of war with neighbouring Yugoslavia.  

Other benefits to being a member of the EU are; medical and health care and personal benefits which include freedom of movement

Union Expectations of Member State 

The prospective states must be in compliance with the set institutional rules and standards. These standards are discussed in more details in the section, factor consideration. The state must be consented by existing member states of and its citizens (European Neighborhood Policy And Enlargment Negotiations). This mostly is not accomplished until the lapse of some years.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

 Factor Consideration 

The prospecting member state must adhere to the designated rules and must be in alignment with the expectations set forth by EU commission. In order for a nation to be considered, it must; be a stable politically and economically, pus it must be willing to adhere to behaviors of member state to the EU. By this, it is implied that the nation must uphold law and justice, protect the minorities and place human rights at the forefront (European Neighborhood Policy And Enlargment Negotiations).

Political Shock 

The political sector of Croatia is undoubtedly been affected by the pursuit of Europeanization. The powers that have come after Tudjman’s have uprooted corruption from the government and public departments citing favors from the western nations (Bulkans). Most notable was the release of war criminals for examination by tribunals set by the region. The politicians in Croatia have seen the opportunity to win back the art works and other national treasures stolen from them. With the EU, they have gained enough power to force Belgrade to return them. Also, the politicians seek entry into archived documentations for leverage against Belgrade and for closure.

Croatia has set a political mood that showcases its importance in the unions it has joined playing key roles in initiatives agreed upon. For instance, Croatia is taking leading role in reaching out to the Western Balkans. Croatia was well prepared for the accession EU which came just four years after joining NATO, 2009, which secured it politically. A year after accession, Croatia put in motion strategies for joining Euro zone and Schengen while first having completed the conditions necessary for the movement. There is no doubt that the political system of Croatia cannot compare to its predecessor.   

A worthy point noting is that the move to modify laws and creation of amendments might have been purely to gain favor from the commissions of NATO and EU. This can be argued with the fact that the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel was annoyed by Croatia’s reluctance to act on the matter of assassination of Croatian defector. She stated that though the error of Tudjman had ended, key players in his system had taken root and were now trying to pull the political covers over the issue by pointing it to the opposite party. Thus creating confusion around the issue to the point where the issue is irresolvable (The Economist).

Period after Joining

The advantage of being with the EU is that the economically weak nations are strengthened as well as the political stature. The idea behind EU is to make a region where nations thrive economically and politically hence the removal of numerous boundary bans and cheap business operation rates plus porous boundaries. Croatia on the other hand manufactured their own contemporary meaning to being member states to the EU; they had been placed at alignment with neighbouring Slovenia (Bogdanic and Husic).

2.2.4 Social Risks 

Expected social reactions to this transformations that have been set forth by Croatia’s pro-activeness to join the West are mostly positively attributed to the benefits associated with member states of these organizations. Joining Europeanization movements or unions does not guarantee  immediate results as could have been noted from the low turnout of Croatians in EU related matters after accession of 2013 (Samardzija; Bogdanic and Husic). This was after the citizen’s high hopes and expectations were not fulfilled.  For instance joining the EU makes it easier for the people who previously were hard hit by depression to cross over into any member state of EU and find work without requiring visa.

Chapter 3

Methodology

Sources of Data

Research methodology indicates how data was collected, and its type. In preparing this report, the data used wassecondary data. Access to original databases of select government records was the initial step in gathering this data. Secondary data from databases containing different academic literatures were used to complete the research report. No primary data was gathered. The data was qualitative in that all cases used had no enumerated figures derived from the databases.

Secondary data was chosen as the most fitting as opposed to primary data due to two reasons. First, it was the cheapest way of conducting a scholarly research constrained by time and resources such as labour and money, and secondly because it allowed input from many different sources hence offering a richer report.

Ethical Issues

During gathering of the data from the various databases and articles, goodwill and neutrality were maintained to ensure authentic and unbiased reporting.  The researcher acted truthfully and was unprejudiced in efforts to produce an original work that took no sides while delivering findings of the political impacts of Croatia joining EU. The preparation of this report was intended to enlighten academicians on the issues that surround the subject matter.

References

BBC News . Croatia: History. 14 April 2015 <http://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/croatia/history>.

Bogdanic, Sinsa and Sead Husic. Rude awakening for Croatia after EU accession. 15 April 2014. 14 April 2015 <http://www.dw.de/rude-awakening-for-croatia-after-eu-accession/a-17559492>.

Bulkans, Turkey. “Croatia: Political Evolution and Relations with the EU.” Article. 2010.

Cierco, Teresa. “Europeanization Impact on Croatia’s Course to Democracy.” Nação e Defesa (2009): 173-209.

Euronews. Croatia: the EU’s youngest member takes stock of progress. 20 May 2014. 14 April 2015 <http://www.euronews.com/2014/05/20/croatia-the-eu-s-youngest-member-takes-stock-of-progress/>.

European Neighborhood Policy And Enlargment Negotiations. Conditions for membership. 14 April 2015 <http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/policy/conditions-membership/index_en.htm>.

Gall, Carlotta. A Feeble Croatia Is Battling Its Ex-Leaders. 3 September 2000. 14 April 2015 <http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/03/world/a-feeble-croatia-is-battling-its-ex-leaders.html?ref=topics>.

Guerra, Simona. The rise of euroscepticism in Croatia. 12 July 3013. 14 April 2015 <http://nottspolitics.org/2013/07/12/the-rise-of-euroscepticism-in-croatia/>.

Lindstrom, Nicole. European Integration and Ethnic Reconciliation in Croatia and Serbia. 2015. 14 April 2015 <http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/295-european-integration-and-ethnic-reconciliation-croatia-and-serbia>.

Peskin, Victor and Mieczysław P. Boduszyński. “International Justice and Domestic Politics: Post-Tudjman Croatia and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.” Europe-Asia Studies (2003): 1117-1142.

Plotz, David. Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. 10 December 1999. 14 April 2015 <http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/assessment/1999/12/croatian_president_franjo_tudjman.html>.

Sadkovich, James J. 304. Father of His Country? Franjo Tudjman and the Creation ofContemporary Croatia. 2015. 14 April 2015 <http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/304-father-his-country-franjo-tudjman-and-the-creation-contemporary-croatia>.

Samardzija, Visnja. Croatia’s First Year Of Eu Memebrship: Have The Expectations Been Fulfilled? Policy. Zagreb: Tepsa, 2014.

The Economist. Euphoria over joining the European Union has given way to a morose mood. 18th January 2o14. 14 April 2015 <http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21594339-euphoria-over-joining-european-union-has-given-way-morose-mood-more-normal-and-glummer>.