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Between Scylla of Europeanization and Charybdis of Nationalism - the EU Accession of Croatia

The EU accession process in Croatia brings many uncertainties to its citizens. The paper focuses on the existence of different discursive positions and articulations of sovereignty, Europe and neoliberal agenda that shape the beliefs and perceptions of the citizens. In Croatia the EU pre-accession campaign has provided a framework for the political debate on the Europeanization and nation building process. Like in other post-socialist countries, the negotiation process has been shaped by the non-negotiable requirement to accept as both natural and necessary the wholesale transformation from a post-socialist regime to a market-based neoliberal society, and by continual EU surveillance. The discursive space is defined by the consensus of relevant left/right political parties on the desirability of European integration, and by increasing opposition to the EU by radical nationalists, unions and different civil organizations. These various actors clearly have different interests but also different capacity to exercise the influence on the agenda of public discourse. The key issues during the campaign refer to the Croatian identity, sovereignty and economy, while the content is constrained by the articulations of different discourses. The performed analysis of the campaign official and unofficial slogans reveals three dominant discursive positions: ‘Europe as a chance’, ‘there is no alternative’ and ‘Europe as a threat’, all consisting of several options. The slogans based on the first, politically most powerful position that considers Europe as a desirable achievement stress historical and cultural ties to Europe and detachment from the Balkan advocating neoliberalism as ideology, mode of governance and policy package. Those with the position of inevitability articulate fears of being isolated politically when staying outside the EU and posit that domestic costs in terms of sovereignty are lower compared to the benefits to be gained by reducing economic uncertainty. The third position is characterized on one hand by radical nationalists concerned mostly with threatened national sovereignty and on the other by articulations that oppose market fundamentalism and consumerism along more traditional lines of pursuing the public good rather than profits by enhancing civil society and social justice.

EU accession; Croatian identity; sovereignty; ideology; policy

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