Croatia: A Transition to Democracy Understanding Croatia’s roots as a former member of Yugoslavia is essential to following its transition from a communist regime, to an independent authoritarian state, and finally to the democratic nation it is today. Its first president following independence, Franjo Tudjman, successfully led the nation out of communism but was controversial in his tactics. Sabrina P. Ramet’s Democratic Transition in Croatia states that the main factor hindering democracy was President Tudjman’s dogmatic rule over the nation with the Croatian Democratic Union. What essentially democratized the country, according to Ramet, was an end to communist ideology and the transition to an open market. Croatia: Nation Forged in War is a source that differs from Ramet and asserts that the Serbian civil war was the primary factor stalling democracy. The author of this source, Marcus Tanner, argues that…show more content… The so-called Croatian Homeland War, or war of independence, greatly delayed democratization and retarded any possibility of Croatia recovering from Tudjman's corrupt reign. International diplomacy was compromised as hatred for Serbs and Serbian-affiliated countries became overwhelming (Tanner 223). The Bosnian-Herzegovina war further paved the way for decades of animosity towards Serbians. This issue with international relations caused Croatia's focus on democracy to be hindered, and instead the focus reallocated to prejudice power moves against Serbia. Once Tudjman passed in 1998, the Račan administration that replaced him was less cruel towards Serbians living within the country. Those with indifference or even affection for Serbians were no longer alienated and labelled anti-Croatian. This shift in perspective aided the country to move past any xenophobic tendencies and instead to focus on improving the
