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.     

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.     

Aviation,apartheid and sanctions: Air transport to and from South Africa, 1945–1989

The geography of air transport to and from South Africa has been shaped powerfully by the world map of anti-apartheid, sanctions-keeping nations which close their airspace to the Republic's state-owned airline. Re-routering, involving notably the offshore west-African link to Europe, revocation of foreign landing rights and a shrinking airline network have resulted. The economic dependence of the Republic's southern African neighbours on their political adversary has dissuaded them from joining an anti-apartheid air blockade. Likewise, the penalties to black African states of denying overfying, landing and traffic rights to west-European airlines plying the South Africa route have diminished the force of the air embargo.     

Future of rail container transport in Eurasia

Conclusions Transport via the Siberian railway in trade between West Europe and Japan is clearly advantageous compared with sea transport. Whether the Siberian transport route is productive for the Soviet Union measured by Western standards is difficult to say. Some Western experts at least have expressed their doubts.It is known that some industrial western market-economy countries have been asked to invest in the construction of the Baikal-Amur railway in return for promised supplies of earth gas and oil. The development of the Siberian transit transport route may also be taken as a sign of an opening up of the Soviet Union to Western countries in a wider sense, and her growing interest in forming trade relations with the West.From the start the Siberian transit transport route was intended, in addition to the Soviet's own transport needs, for goods traffic between West Europe and Japan. Since then connections have been made with Hong Kong and the Philippines. In the future connections via Siberia may be made with Taiwan, South Korea and other East Asian countries and Australia. Thus the international significance of the Trans-Siberian railway in trade between the Far East and Europe will increase considerably. This will mean that the Soviet officials will be faced with what may prove a difficult decision concerning the growing demands of international transit traffic in relation to the increasing domestic transport on the same rail network.It seems likely that the Soviet Union will obtain an increasing proportion of the foreign exchange she needs from this growth in transport. In 1975 this sum was estimated at US $ 150.000.000. With the development in traffic the Soviets are also obtaining and developing new technological know-how. The biggest losers are the shipping lines belonging to the Far-Eastern Freight Conference. They are mainly from Western countries, but there are also members from Poland and East Germany who will lose freights to the Siberian transport route.     

Is the Israeli Negev a viable alternative to the Suez Canal?

The cargo movement over the continental bridge annually since 1970 is shown in Table 2. These figures should be compared with the (dry) volume of trade via Eilat annually (see third column of the same table) and they include the traffic via the continental bridge. From this table it is clear that the amount of cargo in transit over the bridge was not a major component of the total traffic through Eilat.     

Geochemical and stable isotopic variability within two rivers rising under the same mountain,but belonging to two distant watersheds

Complementary geochemical and stable isotope investigations of the Gorski Kotar karst aquifer system in western Croatia were obtained for the first time, to answer the question whether both studied rivers drain the same aquifer system or not. The two main rivers, the Kupa and the Rje?ina, rise under the same mountain range, but belong to two different watersheds (Black Sea and Adriatic Sea). The karst aquifer of Gorski Kotar is a potentially important source of drinking water for two neighboring countries, Croatia and Slovenia (Central and South Europe), and is strongly influenced by both Mediterranean and continental weather conditions. It is a part of the Dinaric karst, which is “locus typicus” for karst worldwide and one of the most typical karst areas in the world.     

Review of the Late Cretaceous-early Paleogene crocodylomorphs of Europe: Extinction patterns across the K-PG boundary

Although the European dinosaur succession during the latest Cretaceous and its relationship with the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction has been the focus of recent work, other continental vertebrates, such as crocodylomorphs, have received less attention. The European continental record of crocodylomorphs in general, and of eusuchians in particular, is relatively dense through the Maastrichtian until the K-Pg boundary. Traditionally it has been argued that continental crocodylomorphs were minimally impacted by the K-Pg extinction, but they were substantially affected in Europe with the disappearance of endemic eusuchians such as Hylaeochampsidae, Allodaposuchus and their close relatives, and non-eusuchians such as Doratodon or Theriosuchus. Despite extensive sampling in Danian continental deposits, only scarce fragmentary crocodylomorph remains have been cited. It is not until the late Paleocene and Eocene that a recovery in continental crocodylomorphs is observed. The presence of taxa such as planocraniids, the alligatoroids Diplocynodon and Hassiacosuchus, and stem crocodyloids during this period provide the first reliable continental records of Crocodylia in Europe and is best explained by post-extinction immigration from Asia or North America. By contrast, marine forms such as Thoracosaurus are found on both sides of the K-Pg boundary in Europe. The adaptation of these marine animals to different environments, from shallow seas to more transitional or fluvial environments, could be the key to their success and survival across the K-Pg boundary, as seen in other marine crocodylomorph clades such as Dyrosauridae.     

For a Europe of flexible regions and not of region-states divided by ethnicity

Discussion of the future of Europe continues to be a marginal political issue, partly because of the resistance of states, on both the practical (bureaucratic) and conceptual levels, created by the government leaders and heads of state. In turn, the nation-states are challenged from within by independent and separatist movements that have laid bare the fundamental hypocrisy of rhetorical discussions of the principle regarding the self-determination of peoples; interfering with states (and their borders) has proven to be a taboo for Europe. The growing flexibility of the globalised economy should be paralleled by a growing flexibility in the conception of the division and political organisation of territory, but this is not the case. Further inflexibility stems from the socio-economic inequity that we accept in our daily lives as normal, in particular as regards inequality in the use and division of territory. Equality, or better egaliberté (equality and liberty), is a sufficiently dynamic and flexible concept to be taken as a point of reference in envisaging the society, Europe, and world of tomorrow. It is only through the concept of egaliberté that we can imagine a Europe based on relations between regions that are conceived and organised on multiple scales and not as region-nations conceived on the basis of ethnicity or in the name of supposed cultural homogeneity.     

For a Europe of flexible regions and not of region-states divided by ethnicity

Discussion of the future of Europe continues to be a marginal political issue, partly because of the resistance of states, on both the practical (bureaucratic) and conceptual levels, created by the government leaders and heads of state. In turn, the nation-states are challenged from within by independent and separatist movements that have laid bare the fundamental hypocrisy of rhetorical discussions of the principle regarding the self-determination of peoples; interfering with states (and their borders) has proven to be a taboo for Europe. The growing flexibility of the globalised economy should be paralleled by a growing flexibility in the conception of the division and political organisation of territory, but this is not the case. Further inflexibility stems from the socio-economic inequity that we accept in our daily lives as normal, in particular as regards inequality in the use and division of territory. Equality, or better egaliberté (equality and liberty), is a sufficiently dynamic and flexible concept to be taken as a point of reference in envisaging the society, Europe, and world of tomorrow. It is only through the concept of egaliberté that we can imagine a Europe based on relations between regions that are conceived and organised on multiple scales and not as region-nations conceived on the basis of ethnicity or in the name of supposed cultural homogeneity.     

Characteristics of post-socialist urban transformation in East Central Europe

The development of the post-socialist city has already been characterised by substantial restructuring processes. Particular emphasis should be drawn to the take-off of the tertiary sector and the comprehensive blight phenomena in the previously industrial areas. The urban housing sector has witnessed increasing housing affordability problems, a marginalisation of communal housing stock, an increase of segregation and an intensification of the decay in the old housing stock. In all East Central European states the spatial development processes of industry and services within the cities basically show clear parallels to the pattern of urban development in continental Europe. In Hungary housing policy, tenure structure and the level of segregation already show relatively closer similarities to the neoliberal, Anglo–American pattern of development. The other ECE states show closer similarities to the corporatist welfare states of continental Europe. As far as medium-term urban development in East Central Europe is concerned, it is to be assumed that – regardless of the specific path of further development – overall solutions shall not be found for the fundamental problems which are the legacy of the socialist era – the decay of old housing stock, large scale derelict industrial areas and the extent and deficiencies of high-rise housing estates. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A late Holocene climate record in stalagmites from Modrič Cave (Croatia)

Few terrestrial Holocene climate records exist from south‐eastern Europe despite its important geographical position as a transitional climatic zone between the Mediterranean and mainland continental Europe. Here we present new petrographic and stable isotope data for two Holocene speleothems from Modri? Cave, Croatia (44°15′N, 15°32′E), a coastal Adriatic site (120 m inland). Modern meteorological and cave conditions have been monitored for 2 years to understand the links between climate variability and stable isotope time‐series records in speleothems. Typical of a Mediterranean‐type climate, a negative water balance exists between April and September, so that recharge of the aquifer is restricted to the winter months. The weighted mean δ¹⁸O of the rainfall is ?5.96‰ (2σ = 2.83), and the weighted mean D/H rainfall value is ?36.83‰ (2σ = 19.95), slightly above the Global Meteoric Water Line, but well below the Mediterranean Meteoric Water Line. Modern calcite from the tops of each stalagmite exhibits δ¹⁸O values that are close to isotopic equilibrium with their respective drip water values. Unfortunately, the relatively young ages and low uranium contents (ca. 50 p.p.b.) of both stalagmites hamper the use of U‐series dating. Radiocarbon dates have been used instead to constrain their chronology using a dead carbon correction. Apart from some Isotope Stage 3 material (ca. 55 ka), both stalagmites were deposited during the late Holocene. Climatic conditions during the late Holocene are inferred to have been sufficiently wet to maintain stalagmite growth and any hiatuses appear to be relatively short lived. Inferred changes in the stalagmite diameters during deposition are linked to δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O variations, indicating alternating periods of drier and wetter conditions. Drier conditions are inferred for the late Roman Ages warm period and the mid‐Medieval Warm Period. Wetter conditions are associated with the Little Ice Age. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The problems of the Italo-Croato-Slovene border delimitation in the Northern Adriatic

The Adriatic Sea, and its northern part in particular, is a highly illustrative example of the changing political geography of the sea. In the 1990's the changing political map was influenced by the break-up of Yugoslavia. As a consequence two successor states, Croatia and Slovenia, started delimitation of their common and new international border. In spite of the fact that a joint boundary commission managed to resolve disputes along almost the entire length of the land border, there are several disputed points remaining as well as unresolved issues of maritime delimitation. The authors analysed the existing claims of the two countries and suggested a possible solution. Regardless of existing problems, there are favourable conditions to develop intensive cross-border cooperation.     

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.     

Car owner attitudes to mass transit use: A Nigerian pilot study

The problem of traffic congestion is growing in intensity in Nigeria's urban centres. The remedy that has so often been prescribed is the introduction of mass transit modes of transportation in the cities. This suggestion presumes that when provided, private car owners will use the mass transit modes. This pilot study explores the likelihood of car owners using mass transit if provided. It finds that over half of the car owners would still stick to the use of their cars even when the best conditions of transit exist. It is contended, however, that the proportion of car owners willing to use mass transit would increase when good and well-organized mass transit modes are established. This would be more so as the inconveniences and hardships of traffic congestion become increasingly felt by the private car driver. Public policy priority in this regard should therefore be directed in the first instance towards the provision of a decent and efficiently operated municipal transit services.     

The Upper Adriatic borderland: From conflict to harmony

The paper presents an overview of the Upper Adriatic as a contact area between different cultural, social, economic and political entities, producing potential conflicts in the last century. The first part of the 20th century represented a classic example of geopolitical conflict through two World Wars and their related Peace Conferences that deeply impacted the region. Conflicts arising from the mid-century solution of the Trieste question transformed the Upper Adriatic into a laboratory of contemporary political geographic transformation. Changing geopolitical patterns have also modified the political, social and ethnic construction of the Upper Adriatic. The process of creating new international boundaries in the region ended in 1991 with the independence of Slovenia and Croatia. Through these geopolitical transformations in the Upper Adriatic, new political geographic attitudes evolved. Early on, Ratzel's geopolitical principles of defining borders as power barometers between neighbors dominated. More recently, attitudes have reflected modern integrative ideas with a focus on looking for harmony and the elimination of international conflicts. Greater attention has thus been given to the political geography of `everyday life', inter-ethnic relations, and cross-border contacts. Hence, `new' borderlands of the Upper Adriatic are more receptive to integration because they seek to overcome conflicts caused by the division of traditionally homogeneous spaces as local level political and ideological hindrances disappear. The region divided among Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia is becoming a new and special type of European borderland in the new century.     

Geochemistry and geochronology of mafic rocks from Bamenda Mountains (Cameroon): Source composition and crustal contamination along the Cameroon Volcanic Line

Mafic rocks from the Bamenda volcanic province along the Cameroon Volcanic Line have been dated from 17 to 0 Ma. Associated with some trachytes and rhyolites, this volcanism covers a period of more than 25 Ma. The studied rocks are basalts to mugearites. Most of them have been contaminated by continental crust during their transit to the surface. The oldest rocks are the most contaminated. One group of samples shows high Eu, Sr and Ba contents. This characteristic is not due to crustal contamination process, but has a mantle source origin. We argue that these characteristics have been acquired by mixing of melts formed by partial melting of mantle pyroxenites with melts formed in mantle peridotites. Such pyroxenites have been observed as mantle xenoliths in the Adamaoua province, and their chemical and isotopic compositions are consistent with such a model.     

Composition and variation of major and trace elements in Croatian bottled waters

Within the framework of the Pan-European project about the geochemistry of bottled mineral waters in Europe launched in 2007 by the European Geological Surveys (EGS) Geochemistry Expert Group fourteen brands of bottled natural waters from Croatia of both mineral and spring types were evaluated for getting more coherent spatial information about the natural variation of element concentration in bottled waters found at the European market. Results of chemical analysis show that not a single one out of fourteen analyzed bottled waters from Croatia exceeds the Croatian water standards sanctioning thereby their suitability for human consumption. Also, statistical tests performed for 41 analytes (including pH and EC) clearly show that the water chemistry is in a high degree of conformity with regional geology, depending on structural, stratigraphic and, above all, lithological diversity of aquifers. Thus Dinaric and Pannonian parts of Croatia differ largely with regard to their water types: Dinaric region is completely lacking mineral water types while, on the other side, in the Pannonian region even the spring waters show stronger mineralization in comparison with their Dinaric counterparts. Typically, all natural waters from Croatia bear the bicarbonate (HCO₃) signature. However, Ca–Mg cation pair combination is characteristic of spring waters while Na–K dominates in the mineral waters.     

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.     

Saalian sediments of the Belchatów outcrop, central Poland

The deposits of six glacial episodes, including five till beds and fluvial deposits of one temperate substage, stratigraphically lying between the Holsteinian and Eemian Interglacials have been recognized in the geological record of the Kleszczów Graben, central Poland. Two other temperate substages have been recognized on the basis of well-developed weathering horizons on the tills. The depositional environments and general petrological features of these sediments are described and their stratigraphical position is discussed. The Saalian Complex of the Kleszczów Graben has been subdivided into the Older Saalian (three glacial episodes), the Pilica Interstadial and the Younger Saalian (three glacial episodes and two presumed interstadials). This sequence cannot be simply correlated with other Saalian stratigraphic sequences in Europe, although the pre-Odranian and Odranian (=main Drenthe) tills most probably belong to the Older Saalian, and the Wartanian (Warthe) tills to the Younger Saalian. The geological record presented here suggests that reforestation phases occurred during the Saalian. This contradicts recently developed continental stratigraphics.