Interest groups in Croatia: Institutional development, strategies, and influence

• Author: Igor Vidačak,Dalibor Dvorny,Zdravko Petak
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1718
• Published date: 01 May 2019
• Date: 01 May 2019

SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER

Interest groups in Croatia: Institutional development,

strategies, and influence

Zdravko Petak |Igor Vidačak |Dalibor Dvorny

Faculty of Political Science, University of

Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Correspondence

Zdravko Petak, Faculty of Political Science,

University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.

Email: zdravko.petak@fpzg.hr

As it transitions to democracy from a history of authoritarianism, Croatia's interest

group system is a work in progress. It is slowly moving from a fluid, informal, and

behind the scenes group system to one more institutionalized, with wider partic-

ipation, and some transparency of group activity. In this article, we explain the

evolution of Croatia's interest group system. The main argument is that specific

features of institutional design and structures have very much influenced political

advocacy behaviour and lobbying strategies of both informal and organized

interests.

1|INTRODUCTION

In June 2016, an estimated 50,000 Croatians gathered in the main

square of Zagreb, the capital, as well as other towns across the coun-

try. The purpose was to advocate for continuation of long‐needed

education reforms and to oppose attempts by a staunchly right wing

group in government to impose its perspective in teaching materials

on controversial social issues, such as gender identity, and sexual

minority rights, among others. The last time Croatians had taken to

the streets in such numbers was way back in 1996 to protest the

government's attempt to shut down the country's last independent

radio station, Radio 101.

The 2016 protests brought together several diverse segments

of society: Over 300 groups including civil society organizations,

trade unions, sports clubs, and local parents' organizations united

under the slogan “Croatia can do better!”These protests increased

discussion about the role and influence of interest groups in

policymaking, as well as on the factors shaping political advocacy

behaviour.

Yet, the role of interest groups in Croatia's political process has

not attracted significant attention of social scientists, and there is no

comprehensive treatment of group activity. There are, however,

several studies on the impact of different types of stakeholders on

policymaking and some studies examining connections between

political parties and interest groups, referred to later in this article.

Besides consulting various secondary sources for this article, a

survey was used to acquire original data. The data was gathered

from a set of interviews conducted in spring 2016 based upon a

more or less common set of questions as set out in the introductory

article in this volume (section 5.5 and Box 3). Fifteen interviews

included respondents divided into four groups: business leaders;

officials from trade unions and NGOs; senior civil servants; and

elected and politically appointed officials (ministers and deputy

ministers). The survey identifies a number of patterns or themes

that, when combined with the secondary sources, enable us to

provide an overview of the various aspect of interest group activity

in Croatia.

This article examines Croatia's developing interest group

system and its contemporary characteristics. It traces the evolution

of the group system as it moved from a traditional to a more

institutionalized system. The article also looks at how various

aspects of group activity relate to its developing democracy. First,

we briefly review the development of interests and interest groups

in Croatia.

2|CROATIA'S POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

AND THE EVOLUTION OF INTEREST GROUP

ACTIVITY

Because much of Croatia's political development has been under

authoritarian regimes, until the recent move to pluralism, the activities

of interest groups have been largely constrained. The most significant

periods in their development have been the experience under the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) and after its dissolution

and the transition to democracy. However, the growth and operation

of interest groups can be traced long before the establishment of

the SRFY.

DOI: 10.1002/pa.1718

J Public Affairs. 2019;19:e1718.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1718

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa 1of12