Sport and politics in Croatia - Athletes as National Icons in History Textbooks

Strong relationship between sport and politics in everyday life is evident. Research on this topic has usually been concentrated on the relation between sport and nations. Despite that, research on the process of national identity (re)construction is still relatively rare. Therefore, as one aspect of that process, we have decided to do a research on the role of representation of sport in history textbooks. History textbooks represent an important tool in the construction and dissemination process of „official“ historical narratives in all states and societies, because the nation-states impose themselves as representatives of general public interest and they seek to retain control over school curriculum in order to validate the current system. When it comes to nation-states, one of the main goals of education is (re)construction of national identity among the youngest members of society. That was one of our initial theses in our analysis of the representation of sport in Croatian history textbooks for the final grades of primary and secondary schools in the period from 1918 to 2014. Our aim was to define the role of athletes and sport in general – both in the process of (re)construction of national identity and in the context of the process of modernization

The Role of the Local Community in Solving Communal Waste Disposing Problem during the Transition in Croatia

Svrha je ovoga rada poticanje rasprave o ulozi lokalne zajednice u Hrvatskoj u rješavanju problema odlaganja komunalnoga otpada. Ovaj tekst polazi od teorijskih definicija pojmova: tranzicija, lokalna zajednica, komunalni otpad i sindrom NIMBY. Pregledom provedenih istraživanja i službenih podataka u Hrvatskoj zaključili smo da je doprinos lokalnih zajednica u rješavanju problema komunalnoga otpada vrlo skroman, a glavni je razlog tomu prisutnost sindroma NIMBY među građanima. Stoga je nužno da država uloži napore u edukaciju građana i njhovo poticanje na sudjelovanje u radu organizacija civilnoga društva na području zaštite okoliša.The aim of this text is to encourage the role of the local community in Croatia in solving the problem of municipal waste disposal. The text starts from theoretical definitions of transition, local community, municipal waste and the NIMBY syndrome. Reviewing the conducted researches and official data, a conclusion arises that the contribution of local communities in solving the problem of the municipal waste disposal is very modest. The main reason for it is the presence of the NIMBY syndrome among citizens. The state should consequently make efforts in educating citizens and activating them in the civil society organizations

The Attitude of the Local Community towards the Problem of Municipal Waste Disposal: Case Study of Makarska Littoral

U ovom radu analizirali smo odnos lokalne zajednice prema odlaganju komunalnog otpada, pri čemu je istraživački fokus bio na razlikama u percepciji i ponašanju pojedinih socijalnih aktera (prosvjednici, predstavnici jedinica lokalne samouprave, građani) prilikom postavljanja blokade i zatvaranja odlagališta komunalnog otpada Donja gora na Makarskom primorju 2003./2004. godine. U empirijskom istraživanju služili smo se metodom studije slučaja (case study), u okviru koje smo kombinirali kvalitativne i kvantitativne istraživačke tehnike. Prije iznošenja i interpretiranja rezultata istraživanja saželi smo kronologiju "slučaja Donja gora" od lociranja odlagališta Donja gora 1976. godine do njegova zatvaranja i završetka sanacije 2007. godine. Istraživanjem smo utvrdili da je odnos lokalne zajednice na Makarskom primorju prema odlaganju komunalnog otpada vrlo loš, a udaljenost prebivališta društvenih aktera od odlagališta komunalnog otpada Donja gora glavni prediktor njihovih stavova, mišljenja i ponašanja prema tom problemu. Time je generalna hipoteza našeg istraživanja potvrđena. S obzirom na nalaze istraživanja smatramo da se analizirani slučaj po mnogo čemu može smatrati tipičnim za pristup rješavanju problema komunalnog otpada u Hrvatskoj.In diesem Artikel wird die Einstellung der Lokalbevölkerung von Makarska (Großraum Split) zum Problem der Müllentsorgung untersucht. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf der unterschiedlichen Wahrnehmung des Problems sowie auf unterschiedlichen Verhaltensweisen einzelner gesellschaftlicher Akteure (Gegner der wilden Müllablagerung Donja gora, Vertreter der Kommunalverwaltung, Bürger) in den Jahren 2003 und 2004, als die Mülldeponie Donja gora bei Makarska blockiert und dann geschlossen wurde. Gemäß den Regeln der Fallstudie werden im vorliegenden Text qualitative und quantitative Untersuchungstechniken kombiniert. Der Autor beginnt mit einer Chronologie des „Falls Donja gora“, von deren Entstehung 1976 bis hin zu ihrer Räumung und endgültigen Sanierung, die 2007 abgeschlossen wurde. Im Laufe der Untersuchung wurde ermittelt, dass die Lokalbevölkerung der Makarska-Riviera eine sehr schlechte Einstellung zum Problem der Müllentsorgung hat und dass der Umstand, wie weit oder wie nahe die genannten gesellschaftlichen Akteure an der Müllkippe wohnen, maßgeblich deren Standpunkte, Überlegungen und Verhalten in Bezug auf das Problem der Müllentsorgung beeinflusst. Die generelle Hypothese dieser Untersuchung konnte somit bestätigt werden. Nach Ansicht des Verfassers ist der analysierte Fall typisch für die Art und Weise, in der das Problem der Müllentsorgung in Kroatien behandelt wird.This paper analyses the attitude of the local community towards the problem of municipal waste disposal, setting the research focus on the differences in perception and behavior of the respective social actors in the case of blockade and close-down of "Donja gora" municipal landfill in the Makarska littoral in the year 2003-2004. The main method used in the empirical research was the case study method, within which qualitative and quantitative research techniques were combined. Before the presentation and the interpretation of the results, a brief chronology of the "Donja gora landfill case" was outlined, starting from the landfill localization in 1976, up until its close-down and remediation in 2007. The research affirmed the rather negative existing attitude of the local community of Makarska littoral towards the municipal waste disposal, finding the distance between the social actors, places of residence and the landfill to be the key predictor of their attitudes, beliefs and behavior – corroborating therefore the general research hypothesis. Regarding the research findings, it is concluded that the analyzed case could, in many ways, be regarded as an example of a typical approach to the resolution of municipal waste disposal problems in Croatia

Ultras between stigma and social activism (Summary)

U razdoblju od 2016. do 2018. proveli smo etnografsko istraživanje mladih pripadnika ultras grupe White Stones u Varaždinu. Na temelju prikupljenih podataka analizirali smo društveni aktivizam ove grupe vezan za djelovanje AMF kluba NK Varteks s ciljem utvrđivanja percepcije svoga kluba naspram sličnih primjera u Europi te prisutnosti stigmatizacije ove grupe mladih. Za razliku od europskoga konteksta, u ovom slučaju otpor komercijalizaciji nogometa prisutan je implicitno, dok je otpor kriminalu i korupciji ključni uzrok društvenoga aktivizma ultrasa. Pritom ultrasi osjećaju pripadnost AMF pokretu, a njihova stigmatizacija je djelomično prisutna.From 2016 to 2018, we conducted ethnographic research on young members of the ultras group White Stones in Varaždin. We analysed the social activism of this group as related to the ‘AMF’ club NK Varteks in order to affirm how members of White Stones view their club as opposed to similar examples in Europe, as well as to determine whether this group of youth are stigmatised. As opposed to the European context, opposition to the commercialisation of football is present implicitly in their case, while opposition to crime and corruption are the key causes of this group’s social activism. They feel as if they belong to the \u27AMF\u27 movement, and stigmatisation is partially present

Medienrhetorik im Wahlkampf 2007. Eine Analyse zur Tagespresse

Analizom sadržaja šest dnevnih listova u parlamentarnoj izbornoj kampanji 2007. godine pokušale su se utvrditi glavne osobine medijskoga praćenja politike u predizbornom razdoblju i glavne oblike političke retorike u izbornoj kampanji. Pokazalo se da je došlo do vrlo velike medijske bipolarizacije političke scene s naglaskom na HDZ i SDP. Izborna kampanja protekla je bez naglašavanja konkretnih društvenih problema, a glavna tema medijskoga praćenja politike i političke komunikacije bili su upravo sami izbori i stranačke predizborne aktivnosti. U retorici predstavnika političkih stranaka prevladavala je afirmativna retorika, odnosno prilozi s izjavama u kojima su se predstavnici stranaka osvrtali na svoj rad, davali razna obećanja ili su općenito pozitivno govorili o sebi i svojoj stranci. U približno trećini priloga s izjavama političara, stranački su se akteri u negativnom kontekstu osvrtali na druge stranke (isticali njihove nedostatke ili nepovoljno govorili o drugoj stranci općenito). Nuđenje rješenja konkretnih problema gotovo je potpuno izostalo, a najzastupljenije su bile izjave u kojima su političari davali samo općenita obećanja. Takvi rezultati pokazuju da se u aktualnoj političkoj komunikaciji u Hrvatskoj mogu prepoznati trendovi koji su u skladu s teorijama koje govore o "pakiranju politike", stvaranju "političkoga spektakla" i "medijskoj kolonizaciji politike".By means of content analysis in six daily newspapers during the 2007 parliamentary election campaign there was an attempt to determine the main characteristics of political media coverage in the pre-election period and major forms of political rhetoric in the election campaign. The results indicate that a huge bipolarisation of the political scene with an emphasis on the two political parties HDZ and SDP occurred in the media. The election campaign passed without accentuating particular social problems, and the main topic of political media coverage as well as of political communication was the election itself and the pre-election party activities. As regards the rhetoric of political party representatives an affirmative rhetoric was dominant, i.e. reports containing statements in which party representatives commented upon their work, gave various promises or generally spoke positively about themselves or their party. In approximately one third of the reports containing politicians’ statements, the party actors spoke in a negative context about other parties (emphasised their faults or spoke adversely towards another party in general). There was a complete lack of solutions to particular problems and the most frequent were statements in which politicians gave only general promises. Such results indicate that in the current state of political communication in Croatia trends can be identified in accordance with theories of "packaging politics", constructing "the political spectacle" and "colonisation of politics by the media".Aufgrund einer Analyse zum Inhalt sechs verschiedener kroatischer Tagesblätter, die in der Zeit des Wahlkampfs die Vorbereitungen zu den kroatischen Parlamentswahlen 2007 verfolgten, versuchten die Autoren, die Hauptmerkmale der Berichterstattung sowie die wichtigsten Formen der politischen Rhetorik aus dieser Zeit zu ermitteln. Es war, wie sich erwies, in den Medien zu einer ausnehmend starken Bipolarisierung der politischen Szene gekommen, wobei die Betonung auf den führenden Parteien HDZ und SDP lag. Der Wahlkampf verlief ohne die Thematisierung konkreter gesellschaftlicher Probleme; der Hauptgegenstand in der Berichterstattung über das politische Geschehen waren die Wahlen selbst und die Wahlkampfaktivitäten der einzelnen Parteien. In der Rhetorik der Parteienvertreter überwogen affirmierende Aussagen bzw. Beiträge über eigene Leistungen, unterschiedliche Versprechen oder allgemeine positive Äußerungen über sich selbst und die eigene Partei. In etwa einem Drittel der Zeitungsberichte, in denen Politiker zu Wort kamen, äußerten sich diese negativ über andere Parteien (unterstrichen deren Mängel oder äußerten sich allgemein negativ über eine andere Partei). Es waren so gut wie keine Lösungsvorschläge zu konkreten Problemen zu vernehmen, sondern überwiegend Versprechen unverbindlicher Art. Solche Ergebnisse lassen in der aktuellen politischen Kommunikation in Kroatien auf Trends schließen, die übereinstimmen mit Theorien über „politische Spektakel” und die „Medienkolonisierung der Politik”

Medienrhetorik im Wahlkampf 2007. Eine Analyse zur Tagespresse

Analizom sadržaja šest dnevnih listova u parlamentarnoj izbornoj kampanji 2007. godine pokušale su se utvrditi glavne osobine medijskoga praćenja politike u predizbornom razdoblju i glavne oblike političke retorike u izbornoj kampanji. Pokazalo se da je došlo do vrlo velike medijske bipolarizacije političke scene s naglaskom na HDZ i SDP. Izborna kampanja protekla je bez naglašavanja konkretnih društvenih problema, a glavna tema medijskoga praćenja politike i političke komunikacije bili su upravo sami izbori i stranačke predizborne aktivnosti. U retorici predstavnika političkih stranaka prevladavala je afirmativna retorika, odnosno prilozi s izjavama u kojima su se predstavnici stranaka osvrtali na svoj rad, davali razna obećanja ili su općenito pozitivno govorili o sebi i svojoj stranci. U približno trećini priloga s izjavama političara, stranački su se akteri u negativnom kontekstu osvrtali na druge stranke (isticali njihove nedostatke ili nepovoljno govorili o drugoj stranci općenito). Nuđenje rješenja konkretnih problema gotovo je potpuno izostalo, a najzastupljenije su bile izjave u kojima su političari davali samo općenita obećanja. Takvi rezultati pokazuju da se u aktualnoj političkoj komunikaciji u Hrvatskoj mogu prepoznati trendovi koji su u skladu s teorijama koje govore o "pakiranju politike", stvaranju "političkoga spektakla" i "medijskoj kolonizaciji politike".By means of content analysis in six daily newspapers during the 2007 parliamentary election campaign there was an attempt to determine the main characteristics of political media coverage in the pre-election period and major forms of political rhetoric in the election campaign. The results indicate that a huge bipolarisation of the political scene with an emphasis on the two political parties HDZ and SDP occurred in the media. The election campaign passed without accentuating particular social problems, and the main topic of political media coverage as well as of political communication was the election itself and the pre-election party activities. As regards the rhetoric of political party representatives an affirmative rhetoric was dominant, i.e. reports containing statements in which party representatives commented upon their work, gave various promises or generally spoke positively about themselves or their party. In approximately one third of the reports containing politicians’ statements, the party actors spoke in a negative context about other parties (emphasised their faults or spoke adversely towards another party in general). There was a complete lack of solutions to particular problems and the most frequent were statements in which politicians gave only general promises. Such results indicate that in the current state of political communication in Croatia trends can be identified in accordance with theories of "packaging politics", constructing "the political spectacle" and "colonisation of politics by the media".Aufgrund einer Analyse zum Inhalt sechs verschiedener kroatischer Tagesblätter, die in der Zeit des Wahlkampfs die Vorbereitungen zu den kroatischen Parlamentswahlen 2007 verfolgten, versuchten die Autoren, die Hauptmerkmale der Berichterstattung sowie die wichtigsten Formen der politischen Rhetorik aus dieser Zeit zu ermitteln. Es war, wie sich erwies, in den Medien zu einer ausnehmend starken Bipolarisierung der politischen Szene gekommen, wobei die Betonung auf den führenden Parteien HDZ und SDP lag. Der Wahlkampf verlief ohne die Thematisierung konkreter gesellschaftlicher Probleme; der Hauptgegenstand in der Berichterstattung über das politische Geschehen waren die Wahlen selbst und die Wahlkampfaktivitäten der einzelnen Parteien. In der Rhetorik der Parteienvertreter überwogen affirmierende Aussagen bzw. Beiträge über eigene Leistungen, unterschiedliche Versprechen oder allgemeine positive Äußerungen über sich selbst und die eigene Partei. In etwa einem Drittel der Zeitungsberichte, in denen Politiker zu Wort kamen, äußerten sich diese negativ über andere Parteien (unterstrichen deren Mängel oder äußerten sich allgemein negativ über eine andere Partei). Es waren so gut wie keine Lösungsvorschläge zu konkreten Problemen zu vernehmen, sondern überwiegend Versprechen unverbindlicher Art. Solche Ergebnisse lassen in der aktuellen politischen Kommunikation in Kroatien auf Trends schließen, die übereinstimmen mit Theorien über „politische Spektakel” und die „Medienkolonisierung der Politik”

A "Site of Memory" or an Electoral Campaign? A Content Analysis of Croatian Media Prior to the 2015 Parliamentary Elections

U radu se nakon kratkoga teorijskog razmatranja kulture sjećanja i političke komunikacije u izbornim kampanjama analiziraju prilozi s izjavama političara tijekom kampanje za parlamentarne izbore 2015. godine u Hrvatskoj. Glavni je cilj rada ustanoviti na koji su način događaji i pojave iz suvremene hrvatske povijesti, te oko njih prisutna različita "kolektivna sjećanja", bili prisutni u analiziranim prilozima. Istraživanje priloga objavljenih u vodećim hrvatskim medijima (dnevne novine, TV-stanice, web- -portali) provedeno je metodom analize sadržaja. Rezultati pokazuju da su prilozi koji uključuju političku komunikaciju o suvremenim povijesnim temama bili znatno zastupljeni, a da su rasprave o njima prije svega potencirane u najvećim strankama, HDZ-u i SDP-u. Na općenitoj razini zaključivanja može se reći da je izborna kampanja u znatnoj mjeri postala "mjesto sjećanja" na kojem se generiraju daljnji politički konflikti oko povijesnih pitanja, a zanemaruju rasprave oko rješavanja mnogih društvenih problema.After a brief theoretical consideration of the cultural memory and political communication in electoral campaigns, this paper analyses statements of politicians during the 2015 Croatian parliamentary campaign. The main goal of the paper is to establish the manner in which events and happenings from modern Croatian history and the various ‘collective memories\u27 surrounding them were present in the media excerpts analysed. Research of excerpts from the leading Croatian media outlets (daily newspapers, TV stations, web portals) was performed through content analysis. The results show that excerpts including political communication about modern historical themes were present to a significant extent, and that discussions of these topics were most often provoked by the largest political parties, Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). On the level of general conclusion, it can be claimed that the electoral campaign largely became a "site of memory" where further political conflicts surrounding historical issues were generated, while discussions of solutions to numerous social problems were neglected

The research of social problems: blank areas on the sociological map of Croatia

Autori teksta polaze od ocjena Josipa Županova, iznesenih 2002. godine, prema kojima na sociološkoj mapi Hrvatske postoje "velike bijele mrlje" koje se odnose na društvene fenomene o kojima sociolozi nemaju empirijskih podataka ili ih imaju vrlo malo, te kako manjak sistematskih podataka o nekim bitnim društvenim pitanjima ometa sociološke generalizacije. U članku se ističe kako su ti nedostaci osobito uočljivi u vezi s istraživanjima fenomena društvenih problema. Ističe se kako izvjesne pojave mogu biti prepoznate kao društveni problemi ne samo zbog (obilježja, promjena) objektivne društvene stvarnosti, nego i na temelju subjektivnoga određivanja i konstruiranja. Uočava se kako su društveni problemi u suvremenoj Hrvatskoj uzročno-posljedično povezani s obilježjima složenoga društvenog konteksta, ponajviše s teškoćama odvijanja procesa tranzicije, modernizacije i globalizacije, te s posljedicama rata i svekolike društvene krize. U tekstu se analiziraju osnovna ograničenja i teškoće sociološke obrade društvenih problema u suvremenoj Hrvatskoj, i to na trima razinama: teorijskoj, empirijskoj i metodološkoj. Zbog utvrđenih raznovrsnih ograničenja i nedostataka sociološke obrade društvenih problema, upozorava se u izlaganju, sužava se opseg i kvaliteta poopćivosti koja se odnosi na sociologiju kao "dijagnozu određenoga vremena" (Srđan Vrcan) i posebice kao "znanost o društvenoj krizi" (Franco Ferraroti).In this article, the authors draw on an evaluation made by Josip Županov in 2002, which refers to the “large blank areas” with regard to social phenomena on the sociological map of Croatia. Namely, sociologists do not have the empirical data (or only have access to very little data) and further lack systematic data on some relevant social issues that hinders them from making sociological generalizations. Moreover, it is emphasized how these shortcomings are particularly evident in research on the phenomena of social problems. The authors emphasize how some phenomena could be recognized as a social problem not only because of their (characteristics, changes) in objective social reality, but also based on subjective determination and design. It is noted that social problems in contemporary Croatia are in a cause-and-effect relationship with features of a complex social context. These include difficulties related to processes of transition, modernization and globalization and with the consequences of war as well as a general social crisis. In this article, the basic limitations and difficulties with sociological analysis of social problems in contemporary Croatia are analyzed at three levels: theoretical, empirical and methodological. The authors conclude, as a result of the confirmed varied limitations and the lack of sociological analysis of social problems, the scope and quality of generalizations which pertain to sociology are a “diagnosis of a specific time” (Srđan Vrcan) and specially a “science on the social crisis” (Franco Ferrarotti)