The population of Croatia

Croatia is a Central European and Mediterranean state, located in contact with and under the influence of various spheres of civilization, which for centuries have penetrated and conflicted on and around the territory of Croatia. Such a position has resulted in various influences which did not always have a positive effect on the development of Croatia. The gradual narrowing and decrease of the Croatian ethnic territory, as well as the presence of national minorities in it, was also a result of the aforementioned position and outside influences (ulji 1993/1994).The demographic structure of Croatia indicates a series of specificities which were primarily conditioned by the historical development of Croatia and which is particularly expressed in constant emigration since the end of the nineteenth century, the relatively large direct and indirect losses to the population during and immediately after the First and Second World Wars, emigration as a type of population movement in all inter-census periods after 1945, the appearance of a natural decline and the aging of the population on almost one half of the state territory.     

A review of the historical development of the Republic of Croatia

The Croats were among the first peoples of Europe who established a state, and from the beginning of the tenth century they had their own kingdom, the first among the Slav peoples. By their language they belong to the Indo-European Slavic, or more precisely the South Slavic group of peoples, and by their cultural and religious orientation they belong to the Western European sphere of civilization. They settled their present homeland at the beginning of the seventh century. Their formation as a distinct ethnicity began in the early Middle Ages, and this on territory which was for centuries the meeting place of Greek and Roman culture, the Frankish and Byzantine Empires, and the Holy Roman (German) and Ottoman Empires. Here the world's three greatest religions also met: Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Islam. The Croats are Catholics and have always gravitated to the West. As one of the six republics of the former Yugoslavia, Croatia was on the border between the Western democratic countries and the Eastern communist world, between the countries gathered in NATO and those in the Warsaw Pact. Since becoming an independent and democratic state in 1991, the Republic of Croatia has been on the eastern border of Central Europe.     

Croatia's territorial consolidation and prospects for the future

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of developments in Croatia related to boundary and territorial issues in the aftermath of the disintegration of Yugoslavia. This survey will therefore detail key events including the Serbo-Croatian war of 1991, the uprising of the Serbian minority, international mediation efforts, the deployment and operation of UN forces in Croatia and Croatia's territorial consolidation in 1995. In the aftermath of Operations Flash and Storm in May and August 1995, respectively, and the spectacular gains by combined Croat and Bosnian forces in western Bosnia in September 1995, Croatia's strategic outlook has been transformed. There are, however, several outstanding issues and disputes yet to be resolved and these will be outlined.     

The new state of Slovenia and its function within the frame of Europe

The paper discusses minorities and their problems along borders of post-WWII Europe and of nation states formed in the early 1990's. One focuses on the socio-geographic conditions of the territory settled by minorities. These territories are most often peripheral, less developed areas of the state and are, because of the constant ignorance of the local culture and language, conflict regions, where interests of the minority and majority population of the state, as well as of the neighboring countries clash. Finally, an attempt of a cross-cultural comparison is undertaken to distinguish among major elements of the minority (protection) arrangements of the Alpen-Adria region and of the areas along the long-time closed borders of Central Europe.     

National minorities as an element of the demographic and spatial structure of the Alpine-Adriatic-Pannonian region

The paper discusses minorities and their problems along borders of post-WWII Europe and of nation states formed in the early 1990's. One focuses on the socio-geographic conditions of the territory settled by minorities. These territories are most often peripheral, less developed areas of the state and are, because of the constant ignorance of the local culture and language, conflict regions, where interests of the minority and majority population of the state, as well as of the neighboring countries clash. Finally, an attempt of a cross-cultural comparison is undertaken to distinguish among major elements of the minority (protection) arrangements of the Alpen-Adria region and of the areas along the long-time closed borders of Central Europe.     

Indigenous Finnic population of NW Russia

In the Middle Ages, before the colonization of eastern Slaves, the area between the Upper Volga and the White Sea was settled bv Finno-Ugric population. In the northern belt lived Sami (Lapp), in the southern Vepsian, Karelian and other Baltic-Finnic tribes. Those peoples were baptized by the Russian orthodox church and incorporated into the Russian state. As a result of Russian-Swedish wars Karelia was divided and split up and Karelians were dispersed. At the beginning of the Soviet period national territorial divisions were organized for the largest groups of Karelians in Eastern and Tver Karelia. Certain territorial divisions were also established for the Vepsians and the Kola Sami. Nowadays, after half a century (about 1937–1987) of Russification and social oppression, all these minority groups are rebuilding their ethnic identity and cultural institutions. Due to earlier repressions and the assimilation policy of Soviet power, the viability of these ethnic minorities is still smaller than it was before World War II. While the numbers of Karelians and Vepsians in the 1930s were 250,000 and 35,000 respectively, but in 1989, the numbers were only 124,900 and 12,100. The total number of the Russian Sami (approximately 1,800) has not changed but the role of the Sami in the Kola Lapland is now insignificant.     

Croatia — a coastal and maritime country

Croatia, through its geographic position, is a Mediterranean/Adriatic and Central European/Danube state. As an Adriatic coastal state, it has a long maritime tradition, which is apparent in its well-developed shipping (2.4 million GT), the high-quality ship-building industry (among the top six in the world) and through its numerous sea ports, of which many were established in ancient times. The leading national port is Rijeka, which is at the same time an important transit port for Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.The exceptionally indented Croatian Adriatic coast with its attractive archipelagos and favorable climatic and oceanographic conditions in the coastal sea offers very advantageous conditions for comprehensive tourist utilization. This is particularly true of nautical tourism, which is complimented by a larger number of constructed and well-equipped yachting ports/marinas on the coast and islands.     

Emigration and emigrants from Croatia between 1880 and 1980

Croatia ranks among those parts of Europe which have taken very high part in all forms of emigration flows in almost all periods of the last few centuries. The emigration from Croatia was caused by different reasons, such as historical, political, national, religious, social and other. It started in the 16th century and has been going on more or less intensively in different historical periods up to now. The first emigrations were caused by Turkish invasion, and those from the later periods came as a result of economical, social and political circumstances in which population of Croatia lived at the time. About 500,000 people had emigrated from Croatia in the period from the end of the century up to World War I. Most of them went to the USA. World War I had made a break in the mass emigration. After the war the emigrant problem came up again, but with some essential changes which were the consequences of the war. World War II stimulated a greatwave of emigration from Croatia. Emigration occurred either voluntarily or involuntarily. For the entire period 1948–1981, statistics show that modern overseas emigration from Croatia totalled roughly 140,000 persons. Finally, we would like to emphasize that the problem of emigration was and is still actual for the Croatian nation, especially in view of the fact that emigration from Croatia did not stop and continues up to this day. As a result today two million and half Croatian immigrants and their descendants live abroad.     

Croatia as a Danube country

Among the three principal regional units of Croatia, i.e. the elongated and spacious Adriatic littoral (with numerous islands), the relatively small and narrow mountainous belt (the Croatian transit doorway) and the Pannonian/peri-Pannonian region, the latter is the largest and accounts for 54 percent of the surface area and 66 percent of the population of Croatia (1991 census). It is part of the Pannonian (or Carpathian) basin, or the central Danube basin, so that Croatia is simply by its position a Danube country. Its Danube character is also highlighted by the fact that the Pannonian/peri-Pannonian region of Croatia through the Sava and Drava Rivers is directly linked to the navigable Danube, which is the historical and ethnic eastern boundary of Croatia. Croatia is an old historical Danube nation and country, although it has nominally appeared as a state after the break-up of Yugoslavia, and its international recognition as an independent state (1992).     

Croatia — the land and natural features

As both Middle-European and Mediterranean country, the Republic of Croatia is composed of several regional units. Every single natural and geographical unit is not specific only in terms of its general natural features, but also by its role in linking Croatia with the rest of the world. Additional peculiarity of these geographic units is their complementary value, which gives good prerequisites for successful economic development of the country.In Pannonian section of Croatia prevail natural features close to those in other Central-European countries. Namely, this section of Croatia participates in Danube catchment area, linking Croatia with the rest of Central Europe. Dinaric Alps are typical mountainous area; in north-western part of the range (i.e. in the region of Gorski Kotar) they are very narrow, making thus possible a comparatively easy communication between Pannonian part of Croatia and the Adriatic coast. Coastal region of Croatia — stretching along the most of (north)eastern coast of the Adriatic — is predominantly characterised by Mediterranean natural features. Due to its size and share in total area of the country, territorial waters of the Adriatic sea can be accepted as the fourth natural and geographic unit of Croatia.     

The development and structure of the Croatian economy

The first part of the article deals with the general and historical conditions of the development of the Croatian economy, with an emphasis on industry as the dominant branch. The relatively favorable developmental possibilities of Croatia are stressed, with the combination of the agrarian Pannonian region, the forested stock-farming highland regions and the tourism-transit front of the Adriatic. The basic data on periods of historical development are mentioned, with an explanation of the five developmental stages.The second half of the article deals with a thorough analysis of the basic processes of the restructuring of the Croatian economy. Emphasis is placed on the decreased significance of agrarian and agricultural production (in 1961 Croatia had an agricultural population of 43.7%, while in 1991 it was only 9.6%), and the domination of industry, which in 1987 accounted for 35.1 percent of the employed population and 50.3 percent of the gross national product. The processes of restructuring and transition from a socialist to a market economy, as well as the wartime crisis, caused a fall in the value of industrial products to 43 percent in the years from 1990 to 1994. The branch and spatial restructuring of the economy and industry, privatization processes and the problem of increased unemployment are also analyzed.     

At what price rice? Food security,livelihood vulnerability,and state interventions in upland northern Vietnam

In the northern uplands of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the state is taking dramatic steps to (re)configure agricultural production through the introduction and subsidisation of hybrid rice and maize seeds. These require yearly cash investments and access to state supplied inputs, a far cry from earlier upland ethnic minority livelihood strategies. In this paper we develop a conceptual framework that brings together an actor-oriented livelihoods approach with concepts from everyday politics and resistance, to examine the relations now at play as ethnic minorities, namely Hmong and Yao households in Lào Cai province, react to the introduction of these hybrid seeds, negotiate with the state over their use, and contest and subtly resist the wholesale adoption of this programme. Our framework takes us beyond an investigation into financial benefits and yields, to focus upon the social, cultural and political aspects inherent in upland farmer decision-making regarding state interventions. Our findings reveal that such agricultural programmes have resulted in new food insecurities and vulnerabilities overlaying more established concerns. Yet in turn, ethnic minority households evaluate these innovations according to their own terms, and have responded by negotiating, accommodating, and also contesting the state’s initiatives using creative and innovative everyday politics and livelihood strategies. In so doing, they have worked to maintain autonomy over choices and decision-making vis-à-vis the economic, social and cultural reproduction of their household units; a delicate balancing act in a socialist state.     

Governing minorities and development in Xishuangbanna, China: Akha and Dai rubber farmers as entrepreneurs

In Xishuangbanna, southern Yunnan, Akha and Dai farmers, regarded in China as “backward”, passive recipients of state-led development, have been “getting rich” on rubber and expanding rubber cultivation into neighbouring Laos. State cash crop campaigns to raise minority farmers’ incomes inadvertently turned minority farmers into dynamic entrepreneurs. This paper builds on Vinay Gidwani’s use of development as a “regime of value” to raise social and economic value to analyze these unexpected results. Local state agents believe they are the agents of development, bringing modest social and economic improvements to minority farmers of obdurate backwardness. Minority farmers see themselves as improving their own incomes and “quality”, a term in China for social value, in an era when they are responsible for their own development. National development discourse encourages citizens to raise population quality by becoming entrepreneurial, a message heard by minority rubber farmers as well as urban elites. Through creative, post-Fordist production models and agile deployment of land, labour, and capital, minority farmers have achieved incomes that exceed those of workers on state rubber farms, large plantations whose Fordist production models are losing out in the uneven transition from a planned economy to a more capitalist market assemblage. Akha and Dai rubber farmers, the “backward” minorities on China’s periphery, have unexpectedly become the forerunners of flexible production arrangements that are prevailing in the arena opened up by China’s 2001 entry into the World Trade Organization.     

Ethnic and economic regions in Slovakia: A statistical and visual exploration of contemporary patterns

When Czechoslovakia was formed after World War I from the remains of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the national boundaries imposed at the time did not accurately portray the areal extent of some ethnic groups. This was particularly true for the Hungarian minority which was established along the southern border of Slovakia. Because of this boundary arrangement, ethnic and economic divisions have resulted within Czechoslovakia and have continued in the new state of Slovakia. This paper analyzes the contemporary regional extent of the major ethnic groups in Slovakia at the district and commune levels. It also analyzes these ethnic patterns in light of a number of economic characteristics. Methods include mapping and analysis of various statistical tests using 1991 Czechoslovak census data. A strong relationship between Hungarian communes and agricultural employment is shown as well as a connection between employment in industry and Slovak ethnic regions. These findings suggest that the Hungarian minority has experienced a substantial geopolitical shift from the group in power to a peripheral society within Slovakia that continues to exhibit higher levels of agricultural reliance than the majority of ethnic Slovakian regions.     

Karst groundwater protection in the Kupa River catchment area and sustainable development

One of the most significant water resources in the Republic of Croatia is the catchment area of the Kupa River, located in the region bordering the Republic of Slovenia. About 88% of the total amount of water in this catchment originates in Croatia and just 12% from Slovenia; therefore, the largest part of the catchment area (about 1000 km²) is on the Croatian side of the border. It is a typical karst area of the Dinarides with aquifers characterized by a relatively rapid water exchange, high groundwater flow velocities and aquifers open to human impact from the surface. Consequently, the aquifers are highly vulnerable and at risk. Due to the availability of large quantities of high-quality spring water (about 6 m³/s), the entire area has a strategic importance within the context of any future development strategy pertaining to the western part of Croatia. The catchment area on the Croatian side was investigated using a wide range of research methods that included a classical hydrogeological approach, the detailed hydrologic calculation of water balance to the hydrogeochemical analyses and modelling. The objective was to determine protection zones and protection measures for the whole area. The difficulties are increased due to the fact that the karst catchment area is crossed by major traffic corridors, oil pipelines and a railway and that many settlements and a highly developed wood industry are present. The combination of protecting water resources with adequate prevention measures and necessary remedial activities that should satisfy the very strict requirements necessary for the protection of the karst aquifers while still allowing for present and future human activities is difficult – but not impossible – to achieve. One good example is the present highway with a closed dewatering system and waste water treatment before the water passes into the karst underground system.     

Croatia and Central Europe — the geopolitical relationship

The position of Croatia on the border of larger geographic wholes (Central Europe, the Mediterranean, the Balkans) makes it a transitional region for these larger areas. However, the Pannonian region of Croatia, as the largest part of its national territory, places it in the ranks of the Central European states. The long historical ties of the Croatian lands with the Austrian and Hungarian centers of Central European power also confirm Croatia's affiliation with Central Europe. The cultural, civilization, religious and other characteristics, which today ease Croatia's communications with Central European countries, are unavoidable. With state independence, Croatia acquired the political sovereignty vital for its Central European orientation and was liberated from the problems of the Balkans, although it is still struggling for its territorial integrity. Croatian statehood was realized soon after the reunification of Germany, which in fact renewed the concept and content of Central Europe. This fact opened many questions tied to the rivalry and political balance of the European powers, which is also connected to the geopolitical position of Croatia.     

Gypsies in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic: Geographic and demographic characteristics

Geographic and demographic characteristics of Gypsies were elaborated on the basis of population census' results in 1970 and 1980. In 1980, there were about 300 000 of Gypsies in Czechoslovakia (2% of the total population). The fast numerical growth of Gypsies becomes a subject of increasing interest of both specialists and large public. According to the prognosis till 2005, in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic will be about 495 000 of Gypsies (3% of the total population). The spatial structure of Gypsies is very uneven, they are concentrated mainly in the East Slovakian districts. The differences between Gypsies and other inhabitants in the demographic behaviour are evident from the age structure. Gypsies are demographically young population with the progressive type of the age structure (high proportion of children and low proportion of the aged). Gypsy women have a high level of fertility during the whole childbearing period. The number of live born children per one Gypsy woman was 6,0 in the age group 45–49 (total population 2,3) in 1980. The effort has been made to estimate the expectation of life of Gypsies on the basis of results from population census 1970 and 1980. The probability of death was derived from the probability of survival between 1970 and 1980. In the period 1971–1980 the expectation of life at birth of Gypsy men was 55,3 years and 59,5 years for Gypsy women. The level of life expectancy like this we can find in developing countries of the Third World. Changes in the demographic behaviour occur as permanent changes only on the basis of the overall social and economic development. The consequences of this development appear usually after a certain delay, measured by the length of generation, not by calendar years.     

Narrativizing (and laughing) spatial identities together in Meänkieli-speaking minorities

This paper scrutinizes how the Meänkieli-speaking minority in The Torne Valley, northern Sweden, use humor in the process of narrativizing their shifting spatial identities, as well as in maintaining and contesting prevailing power relations. A great deal of the research focusing on the social and political nature of humor, and its geographical dimensions, has concerned the humor directed at ethnic and national minorities, with minority groups typically being approached as targets of laughter. However, less interest has been paid to how minorities use and experience humor in their everyday lives and environments. Humor is approached here as an integral part of how people make sense of culture and society in a creative manner and cope with and challenge subordinating power-relations and social inequality. In terms of methodology, laughing together operates as a (research) approach through which spatial identities of linguistic minorities can be renegotiated. The study is based on group discussions held with local culture workers and activists between September 2015 and February 2016 in Swedish Torne Valley. The paper produces new theoretical and empirical knowledge concerning how humor is used in a creative manner to make sense of, produce and contest socio-spatial relations.     

Croatia — “a small country for a great vacation”

Croatia is a country of tourism, and this is primarily due to its position by the warm Adriatic Sea, its varying and picturesque landscapes, its diverse and generally favorable climate for tourism, its rich Mediterranean and Central European cultural heritage and its proximity to the leading European consumer countries.In the international tourism market, Croatia presents itself with the slogan A Small Country for a Great Vacation, because its 4.8 million inhabitants and surface area of 56,538 km² place Croatia in the ranks of the world's smaller countries. Its significance is increased by an additional 33,200 km² of territorial waters, of which a large part is considered internal waters because of its location within the limits of a series of islands.The tourism offering of Croatia is very diverse, but its basis is formed by three differing and mutually complimentary regions, through their natural characteristics and cultural heritage: coastal, montane and Pannonian and peri-Pannonian Croatia. The total tourism offering of Croatia includes 900,000 beds, of which over one-fifth are in hotels or similar places, two-fifths are in private rooms and one-third in camps.The tradition of tourism in Croatia is over one hundred years old, and according to the number of foreign tourists it is ranked as the fifth country for tourism in southern Europe.     

Women as individuals and members of minority groups: how to reconcile human rights and the values of cultural pluralism

The paper represents an attempt to understand how, in a democratic and pluralistic state, it is possible to reconcile the values of individual freedom with those granted to minority groups. In this perspective, the paper argues that, without questioning the importance of differentiated cultural rights that allow cultural minorities to be on an equal footing with the mainstream society, women’s rights cannot be ignored. Instead, rights for women are not exclusive of any particular culture or society, being indeed one of the human rights common to all groups of people, those rights which attest to the existence of a bond among individuals as members of the human community.