Croatia in the 20th century

CROATIA IN THE 20th CENTURY: MODERNIZATION IN THE CIRCUMSTENCES OF PLURALISM AND MONISM

Abstract

Project objective is to explore political, economic, social and cultural circumstances in Croatia, from the breakup of Austro – Hungary (1914/1918) to the breakup of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and formation of independent Croatian state in the early 1990s. The research will cover entire Croatia, all Croatian regions and complete population. It will analyse different topics, from ideology, politics, national and religious issues to culture, especially focusing on the role of printed media and sports in the social life. The project will cover wide range of processes and events, from formation and distribution of national and political ideas, their realization through political parties and warfare methods or through activities of the state security mechanisms to reconstruction of everyday life and identity of various groups of Croatian society. It will study the influence of authorities on individual destinies. In other words, the project will explore the impact of the First World War on population; actions of governing structures from the Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs / Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Independent State of Croatia to Federal National Republic of Yugoslavia / Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, primarily from the perspective of national and individual freedoms, and in the context of foreign political factors. Most subjects will cover entire Croatian territory, but some researchers will focus on specific regions such as Dalmatia, Baranya, Slavonia and Syrmia. To provide additional insight, subjects will be analysed in comparison with similar processes in neighbouring and European countries.

Fundamental purpose of the project is to explore subjects that have been poorly researched and based on that insight and using the modern approach of actual knowledge on different political-ideological and governing mechanisms, to reaffirm, amended or revise.

Elaboration of general objective

General project objective is to collect, research, describe and interpret some of the important periods and topics in the Croatian history of 20th century, that have so far been neglected or interpreted in a uniform way. This includes series of events and processes related to Croatia, Croats and Croatian citizen in the Republic of Yugoslavia, Independent State of Croatia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia until the formation of independent Croatian state. 20th century is more characterized by revolutionary and less by reformatory developments within various and conflicting state entities that included Croatia, from multinational, federative or confederative Yugoslavia, brief episode of formal independence to actual Croatian independence at the end of the century.

All of these state formations underwent modernization processes in the sense of abandonment of agrarian system, industrialization, urbanization, mass enlightenment and liberalization. All these processes took place in the circumstances of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, and only briefly under democratically elected governments. 

Principal investigator: Zdenko Radelić, PhD

This project is financed by Croatian Science Foundation and web pages of the project are on the following link.