Euroscepticism in Croatia: on the far side of rationality?

This paper deals with the characteristics of euroscepticism in Croatia, defined as a combination of distrust in the European Union and distaste for membership. An analysis of the dynamics of the two dimensions shows that initially these two factors did not coincide, but that after 2004 they converged. Starting off from a theoretical model according to which the attitude to the EU is affected by both utilitarian or pragmatic as well as ethnic-cum-nationalist (symbolic) factors, the analysis of data collected at the end of 2003 on a probabilistic national sample draws attention to the heterogeneous motives behind euroscepticism, which calls into question the effectiveness of any single intervention strategy. Exclusive nationalism and its socio-cultural, political and economic premises have been confirmed as an important source of euroscepticism. As against symbolic motivations, the impact of utilitarian motives on the attitude to the EU turned out to be marginal, but it is not clear to what extent this result is the consequence of methodological constraints. The data also show that lack of trust in the EU partially reflects distrust in national institutions. The paper concludes with a brief list of recommendations, focused particularly on ways of increasing trust in both national and EU institutions

Socio-Cultural and Psychosocial Dimensions of Sexual Risk Taking

Premda je pojam seksualnih rizika šireg sadržaja, pod njim se uvriježeno misli na rizik od zaraze spolno prenosivim infekcijama (SPI), uključujući i HIV. Počevši od adolescencije, SPI su ozbiljan problem za reproduktivno i seksualno zdravlje žena i muškaraca. Dok psihosocijalna dimenzija seksualnih rizika govori o utjecaju individualnih obilježja i interpersonalne dinamike na donošenje odgovornih seksualnih odluka, sociokulturna dimenzija upućuje na važnost društvene slojevitosti te dominantnih ideoloških i moralnih očekivanja, koji mogu povećati ili smanjiti ranjivost određenih skupina. Sveobuhvatna i djelotvorna zaštita reproduktivnog i seksualnog zdravlja, odnosno prevencija rizika od infekcije SPI, podrazumijevaju poznavanje medicinskih i nemedicinskih aspekata rizičnog ponašanja, jasno razgraničenje između znanstvenih činjenica i moralističkih imperativa te interdisciplinarno oblikovanu prevenciju, koja uključuje i sustavnu seksualnu edukaciju.Although the notion of sexual risk taking encompasses a number of potential problems related to human sexuality, it is most often used to describe the risks associated with acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. It has been well established that STIs often have negative consequences for reproductive and sexual health in both women and men from adolescence onward. An understanding of non-medical aspects of sexual risk taking is of crucial importance for the effi cient prevention of STIs. The psychosocial dimension of sexual risks describes the individual and peerbased characteristics that infl uence sexual decision making and the probability of becoming infected with an STI. The socio-cultural dimension points to the existence of various ideological and moral expectations in a given society, which may increase or decrease vulnerability to sexual risk among different social groups or populations. Effi cient prevention of STIs requires (a) knowledge of the medical aspects and a thorough understanding of non-medical aspects of sexual risks, (b) distinguishing between scientific facts and moralistic/ideological claims, and (c) interdisciplinary prevention programs, including the introduction of comprehensive sex education

Croatian Accession to the European Union: Institutional Challenges

This paper provides a comparative empirical analysis of social values in Croatia, the European Union (EU), the countries joining in the first round, and a group of European countries outside the EU. Following up on the analysis of the data obtained in international research into European values carried out at the end of the 90’s on national samples of most European countries, the authors have endeavoured to determine the differences in the spread of post-material values and the scope of social capital. The objective is to define where, in terms of social values, Croatia is currently located, and thus to sketch out its readiness or lack of readiness for joining the EU. In the second part, the paper offers a comparative analysis of factors that affect the level of public confidence in the EU.socio-cultural values, post-materialism, social capital, transition costs, confidence in the European Union, Croatia

Online sexual harassment and negative mood in Croatian female adolescents

Online sexual harassment (OSH) appears to be a relatively frequent phenomenon, particularly for older adolescents. It is also a gendered experience. Compared to their male peers, female adolescents are more likely to experience OSH and find it upsetting. This study sought to explore the role of resilience in explaining the association between online sexual harassment (OSH) and negative mood (i.e., depression and anxiety symptoms) among female adolescents. Using data from a panel sample of 477 female Croatian adolescents (age at baseline = 15.8 years; SD = 0.48) and two-wave cross-lagged path analysis, we investigated OSH, changes in depression/anxiety symptoms, association between OSH and negative mood, and the role of resilience. During the 26-month period under observation, OSH and negative mood were associated cross-sectionally, but not longitudinally. This suggests the negative mood effects of OSH exposure may be short-lived or that factors other than OSH explain changes in negative mood over time. Resilience was consistently and negatively associated with negative mood, but not OSH. In adolescent girls with low levels of resilience, OSH was associated with negative mood; no such relationship was observed among their highly resilient peers. Experiences other than OSH appear to be more pertinent in predicting symptoms of negative mood in older adolescent girls over time. Given that resilience attenuated the relationship between OSH and negative mood, efforts to increase resilience to online challenges may be more helpful than efforts to limit or control young people’s online exposure

Socio-cultural values, economic development and political stability as correlates of trust in the European Union

This paper provides a comparative empirical analysis of social values in Croatia, the European Union (EU), the countries joining in the first round, and a group of European countries outside the EU. Following up on the analysis of the data obtained in international research into European values carried out at the end of the 90's on national samples of most European countries, the authors have endeavoured to determine the differences in the spread of post-material values and the scope of social capital. The objective is to define where, in terms of social values, Croatia is currently located, and thus to sketch out its readiness or lack of readiness for joining the EU. In the second part, the paper offers a comparative analysis of factors that affect the level of public confidence in the EU

In search of the egalitarian syndrome: cultural inertia in Croatia?

In 1970, Josip Županov presented his Egalitarian Syndrome Theory (EST) to account for the country’s suboptimal socioeconomic development. The theory was operationalized only recently (Štulhofer and Burić, 2015), which enabled an assessment of the persistence of egalitarian syndrome, as well as the testing of its hypothesized (negative) association with indicators of social development. Using data from a 2015 national probability survey, this study aimed to provide additional validation of the multidimensional measure of the egalitarian syndrome, including age and gender invariance testing, as well as to explore the hypothesized negative association with county-level development indices. The findings support Županov’s theoretical assumptions. Rural vs. urban residence, education and occupation, but not participants’ age, were significant predictors of the support for egalitarian syndrome. Significant negative associations were observed between the acceptance of values associated with the egalitarian syndrome and county-level development and competitiveness scores, GDP and early entrepreneurial activity. Although our study was not designed to test the causal relationship between radical egalitarianism and socioeconomic development, the findings suggest that the widespread prevalence of the egalitarian syndrome may be a problem for the country’s socio-economic development

The long and winding road of Croatian privatization

U radu se prikazuje i interpretira društvena percepcija privatizacije u Hrvatskoj na temelju određenih empirijskih podataka. Autor pri tome razlikuje određene socio-kulturalne činitelje percepcije privatizacije od kolektivne reakcije na sadašnje učinke privatizacije u zemlji. Hrvatsku privatizaciju obilježavaju: a) nedosljednost proceduralnih poteza i institucionalnih struktura, b) nepravilnosti i zloupotrebe položaja, c) visoki socijalni troškovi. Rezultati istraživanja iz 1996. godine na reprezentativnom uzorku hrvatskih građana ukazuju na razmjerno negativnu opću ocjenu dosadašnjeg tijeka privatizacije, a jednako tako i njezinog tipičnog proizvoda poduzetnika. Iako takva predodžba nije hrvatska specifičnost, ona nije posljedica naslijeđenih loših navika iz prethodnoga sustava. Riječ je, naime, prije o nezavidnom ishodu društvene procjene pravednosti i legalnosti postupaka učinjenih u dosadašnjem tijeku gospodarskog preobražaja Hrvatske

DIE UNHALTBARKEIT DER ERHALTBAREN ENTWICKLUNG

Referat propituje politekonomijske temelje koncepta »održivog razvoja« (OR), implementacijske poteškoće kojega kao da su zaboravljene u općem ekološkom entuzijazmu. Prvi dio donosi analitičku raspravu o fenomenu kolektivne akcije, pri čemu ispitujemo njezine tegobe („tragedy of commons“, „free riding“, „prisoner\u27s dilemma“) i empirijski iskazanu otpornost. Stabilnost kooperacije sistematizirana je kroz »načela kooperacije« te putem »pozadinskih procesa« (reciprocitet, učenje, djelovanje normi i sankcija, usvajanje vrijednosti) i »teorije kritične mase«. Drugi dio predstavlja primjenu opisanog analitičkog modela na međunarodnu politiku, posebno onaj njezin dio zadužen za rješavanje globalnih ekoloških kriza. Rezultati su porazni; međunarodna kooperacija fundamentalno je nestabilna, odnosno neotporna na egoizam. Mogućnosti planetarne ekološke regulacije - tri načina »motiviranja« za kooperaciju (novi Levijatan, uspon postmaterijalističkih vrijednosti i kreiranje eko-tržišta) - bitno su ograničena pogreškama »u konstrukciji« koje ih čine nedjelotvornima u suzbijanju populacijskog rasta kao makrokrize „par exellence“. U završnom dijelu ponuđeno je (lapidarno) razmatranje zadataka prirodnih i društvenih znanosti. Pred ovim posljednjima svojevrsna je »dekonstrukcija humanizma« - kao mogući izlaz iz »socijalne stupice« maksimizacijske racionalnosti.The report questions political and economical basis of the concept "sustainable development" (SD), the difficulties of implementation being almost forgotten in general environmental enthusiasm. The first part brings the analytical discussion about the phenomenon of collective action, the existing difficulties are investigated (as tragedy of commons, free riding, prisoner\u27s dilemma) as well as the empirically shown resistance. The stability of cooperation is systematically organised through the "principles of cooperation" and "background processes" (reciprocity, learning, rules and sanctions effects, mastering of values) as well as through the "theory of critical mass". The second part of the report introduces the application of the described analytical model on international politics, particularly onto the sector in charge of solving global ecological crises. The results are disastrous: international cooperation is unstable, not resistant to egotism. The possibilities of planetary ecological regulation - three ways of "motivating" the cooperation (new leviathan, rise of post-materialistic values and creation of eco-market) are significantly limited by mistakes "in construction" making them ineffective for the control of growth of population - the macro-crisis par excellence. The final part of the report offers the (lapidary) consideration of the tasks of natural and humanistic sciences. Leading among the latter one is a kind of "de-construction of humanism" - as a possible way out from the "social trap" of maximising rationality.Der vorliegende Artikel erforsch die politökonomischen Grundlagen des Entwurfs der "erhaltbaren Entwicklung" (EE), dessen Vollziehungsschwierigkeiten im allgemeinen ökologischen Enthusiasmus scheinen vergessen zu sein. Der erste Teil stellt die analytische Diskussion des Phänomens der kollektiven Aktion vor, wobei ihre Unzulänglichkeiten (tragedy of commons, free, riding, prisoner\u27 dilemma) untersucht werden, sowie die empirisch nachgewiesene Widerstandsfähigkeit. Die Standhaftigkeit der Zusammenarbeit wird durch das "Kooperationsprinzip", mit Hilfe von "Hintergrundprozessen" (Reziprozität, Lernen, Normen- und Sanktionenwirkung, Werteaneignung), sowie "der Theorie der kritischen Masse" systematisiert. Der zwei Teil stellt die Anwendung des oben beschriebenen analytischen Modells auf die internationele Politik dar, insbesondere auf jenen ihren Teil, der für die Lösung von globalen ökologischen Krisen zuständig ist. Die Ergebnisse sind vernichtend; die internationale Zusammenarbeit ist fundamental unbeständig, bzw. widerstandsunfähing dem Egoismus gegenüber. Die Möglichkeiten der planetaren ökologischen Regulierung - drei "Motivierungs"-weisen für die Zusammenarbeit (der neue Leviathan, der Aufstieg der postmaterialistischen Werte und die Bildung des Ökomarkets) - sind wesentlich beschränkt durch die "Konstruktions"-fehler, die sie in der Bekämpfung des Bevölkerungszuwachses als Makrokrise „par exellence“ unwirksam machen. Im Schlüssteil wird eine (kurzgefasste) Erwägung von Aufgaben der Natur- und Sozialwissenschaften dargeboten. Was die letzten anbelangt, wird eine gewisse "Dekonstruktion des Humanismus" zum möglichen Ausgang aus der "sozialen Falle" der Maximisierungsrationalität