engleski

Youth of Croatia - Between National Identity and European Integration

The data analysis indicates the heterogenous structure of the national identity of the young. The diversity of the patterns of the relation of the young toward their own nation is indicated in all the dimensions that were analyzed: attitudes towards their own nation, European processes of integration and European nations individually. The data analysis indicates that the relation of the young toward their nation slightly changed during the 1990s when compared to the 1980s. A decrease of the attractiveness of the statements with cosmopolitan connotations and wider spread of nationally colored statements including those whose content glorifies and is uncirtical towards one's own nation (ethnocentrism) is indicated. The changes did not significantly extend to the hierachical structure of the items. The changes are more evident on the "poles" of the national-cosmopolitan continuum, where a shift towards the statements that express stronger ties of the youth to their own nation emerged. However, in spite of the mentioned shifts in the young population of the 1990s the attitudes prevailed that expressed ties to their own nation which "guards" their openness towards the world and influences of other countries. The opinions of the young are heterogenous in their attitudes about the inclusion of Croatia in the processes of integration. Pro-European attitudes coexist parallel with anti-European ones, those that indicate uncritical opinions of the young towards Croatian readiness for European integration. Regardless of the indicated distance and fear of Europe, it is still, for the majority of young people, an attractive social region that provides Croatia, as well as tehm personally, better development conditions. Apart from the influences that are societal, here the influence of the characteristic of the younger generation are obvious - the desire for better educational and employment opportunities, the desire to travel and make new friends, etc. The data also indicates that a large number of the young are critical towards the readiness of Croatia to fulfill the criteria for integrating into Europe, especially towards insufficient democratization of its political and societal life, including the respect for human and minority rights. They are critical of the insufficient economic development of Croatia, etc. These attitudes indicate that the young are realistic in regard to the situation in their own country and that most of them have, in spit of their homogenous societal life, internalized democratic societal values and the pluralization of the society. Although these are the attitudes of the young towards generally formulated values, these are encouraging findings, since this is the population that will carry the future development of the society and upon whom the course of this development will depend. The variance analysis indicated that the difference mentioned in the attitudes of the youth toward their own nation and integration of Croatia into the European processes of integration are significantly influenced by their socio-demographic characteristics. The strongest discriminatory power was found in the modernization variables, such as the level of education of the participants and their parents, their residential status, regional status (industrially developed or undeveloped areas) and political preferences. To be more specific, a higher level of education (parents and participants), urban residential status, liberal or socio-democratic political orientation are related to the looser national ties and cosmopolitism. Consequently, the participants with these characteristics are more commonly pro-European and more critical than the others of the faults and weaknesses of their own society. In contrast to this, the nationally connoted attitudes and a more reserved attitude toward Europe are related to a lower level of education, rural residential status, and preference for the nationally oriented political programs. This differentiation of the participants is a common result of the impact of the modernization variables. It indicates that the more developed, untraditiona environments are favorable for the development of youth as free individuals who do not tie closely to a group, but have a multiple identity and are open to communication in different directions. A somewhat different picture of national awareness is indicated by the data of the youth's social distance toward specific nations. These indicate that the young have a greater distance toward Eastern non-Catholic countries, especially Bosniacs, Serbs and Albanians, than toward geographically distant Western European Catholic countries. While the great distance towards Bosniacs and Serbs can in part be explained by the war, the hierarchical dichotomization of nations by the "developed - undeveloped" and "Catholic - non Catholic" clearly reflects the value system of ruling ideology of that time which promoted the hierarchical principle of valorizing cultures, giving the culture of Western, Catholic nations a higher status than Eastern, non-Catholic ones. Since Croatia is itself a Catholic country, that is a country the majority of whose population belongs to the Catholic faith, the spreading of this value system had a significant role in the constitution of national identity and placing Croatia in the cultural circle of the Western-Catholic countries. Its influence was obviously extended to youth as well. Moreover, the data indicates that in this case the influence of the ruling ideology in the society was more evident than in other analyzed dimesions of their attitudes toward the nation. The European West is not immune from division into "developed" and "undeveloped", and to "West" and "East", etc. Moreover, this hierarchical distinciton of nations and their cultures has been a long-lasting ingredient of the West European nationalism and racism. The loosening of the borders and the development of communication has increased their influence on the youth throughout Europe, including Croatia. Therefore it is not insignificant that the transitional countries in their desire to become closer to the West adopt this part of the European heritage as well. To conclude, one may say that in this research it was also found that the societal fiven has a multiple influence on the youth. Exposed to different influences in their social environment, the young react differently. Although their ries to their own nation during the 1990s became stronger than in the 1980s, even with signs of ethnocentrism, most of the young people despite the period of national homogeneity, preserved a typically generational characteristic: criticism and openness toward the pluralization of the societal area and the world around them.

youth, nation, identity, Europe, integration

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