engleski

A Time of Disasters - What Can We Learn from Mobilization of Ultras Subculture in Croatia?

The paper chronologically presents and analyzes the social role and social status of the Ultras subculture in the context of organizing assistance amid natural disasters that hit Croatia, such as the Slavonia floods in 2014, the Dalmatia fire in 2017, the earthquake that struck Zagreb on March 22, 2020, as well as a series of earthquakes that occurred in Sisak- Moslovina County in December 2020, and finally, the COVID- 19 pandemic. The Ultras represent the most numerous subculture on the Croatian subcultural scene and their collective engagement at the time of natural disasters and the pandemic has had a significant impact on the otherwise negative perception of this supporters’ group by the media and the public. Therefore, by using the sociological theories of collective action and certain theoretical aspects from the domain of sociology of subcultures, the paper aims to demonstrate the solidarity and organized efforts of Ultras in regards to the five above-mentioned traumatic events. Qualitative and quantitative methodological tools were used in the research. Within the qualitative part of the research, the researchers used an ethnographic approach by combining participant observation and a semi-structured interview with active participants, members of the supporters’ group Bad Blue Boys. The quantitative part of the research was conducted through a survey on a sample of 692 inhabitants of Zagreb that was carried out immediately after the Zagreb earthquake. This paper presents the results of the aforementioned survey questionnaire, analyzed materials collected through interviews, and diary entries created while conducting the field research. The aim of combining different methodological approaches is to show what role the supporters’ groups played in the eyes of the citizens in times of natural disasters and the pandemic, while also focusing on the members of the Ultras subculture and their point of view on the abovesaid events.

ultras subculture ; collective action ; natural disasters ; COVID-19 pandemic ; solidarity

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