Danijela Dolenec: Democratic Institutions and Authoritarian Rule in Southeast Europe

Prikaz knjigeBook Revie

The Election Campaign of 1990 in Croatia in the light of Croatian and Serbian Journalism

Autor prikazuje osnovne elemente strategije hrvatskog i srpskog novinskog diskursa u predizbornoj kampanji u Hrvatskoj. Kriza federacije i narušeni međunacionalni odnosi utjecali su na širenje mržnje u predizbornoj kampanji. Od hrvatskih novina u analizi su korišteni Vjesnik, Večernji list, Danas i Start, a od srpskih Politika, Duga, NIN i Intervju. U radu se prikazuje liberalizacija i otvaranje tranzicijskog procesa prihvaćanjem stranačkog pluralizma i osnivanjem političkih stranaka. Analizirana su i dva slučaja. Prvi je skup na Petrovoj gori 4. ožujka 1990., koji je hrvatsko novinstvo povezalo sa širenjem „antibirokratske revolucije“, a srpsko ga je prikazalo kao odgovor na jačanje hrvatskog nacionalizma. Drugi slučaj je „atentat“ na predsjednika HDZ-a F. Tuđmana 18. ožujka 1990., koji je u hrvatskom novinstvu interpretiran kao napad na demokratski proces, a u srpskom kao očekivani odgovor isprovociranoga srpskog stanovništva.The author shows the basic elements in the strategies of argumentation employed in Croatian and Serbian journalistic discourse during the electioncampaign in Croatia. The campaign was short, but the events that precededit had a large influence on Croatian and Serbian journalism. In the context of the crisis of federalism and the collapse of national relations the election campaign served to further stimulate national hatred. The article is based on an analysis of the Croatian newspapers Vjesnik, Večernji list, Danas and Start, and the Serbian newspapers Politika, Duga, NIN and Intervju. The first part of the work deals with the liberalization and transition process after the introduction of party pluralism and the creation of new political parties. It also presents the general attributes of the election campaign and the reporting of the Croatian and Serbian papers regarding the campaign. The author also analyses two events that occurred during the campaign: the mass meeting that took place in Petrova Gora on 4 March 1990 and the “assassination attempt” on President of the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union), Franjo Tuđman, in Benkovac on 18 March 1990. The Croatian papers tied the mass meeting at Petrova Gora to the widening “anti-bureaucratic revolution,” while the Serbian papers presentedit as a reply to growing Croatian nationalism. Similarly, the “assassination attempt” directed at Tuđman was interpreted by Croatian journalism as an attack on the democratic process, while the Serbian press presented it as a staged and expected reply from a provoked Serbian population

Western Newspapers a and the War in Croatia

At the time of the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the beginning of the war in Croatia in 1991, the Balkans were not in the focus of Western politics, which was preoccupied with the collapse of the USSR and the Gulf War. The dominant position of Western policy was the preservation of Yugoslavia and the maintenance of geopolitical stability. In the second half of 1991, under the influence of the war in Croatia, Western policy slowly turned towards the possibility of the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the recognition of the independence of Slovenia and Croatia. The article analyzes the American and British newspaper narratives about the war in Croatia during the five-month peak of the conflict, from September 1991 to January 1992. The analysis was conducted on four daily newspapers, two American (The New York Times, Los Angeles Times) and two British (The Independent, The Guardian). A total of 920 texts were analyzed through coding based on the adoption of a pro-Croatian, pro-Serbian, or neutral position. The research shows that more texts about the war in Croatia were published in the analyzed British newspapers. Secondly, the narrative is significantly marked by a neutral stance, which coincides with the unclear and undefined policy of the West towards the Yugoslav crisis. Thirdly, there were significantly more pro-Croatian than pro-Serbian texts in the analyzed period

Last Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia: Causes, Consequences and Course of Dissolution

Jugoslavija se tijekom osamdesetih suočila sa sve većom krizom koja je dovodila u pitanje i opstanak federacije. Sukobljene koncepcije uređenja Jugoslavije, bazirane u republičkim SK, konačno su se razišle na 14. izvanrednom kongresu SKJ u siječnju 1990. U članku je prikazan kontekst u kojem je Kongres održan kao i tijek istog. Uz to, izložene su strategije i ciljevi pojedinih republičkih organizacija i posljedice raspada SKJ. Izvanredni 14. kongres SKJ predstavlja važnu epizodu u procesu raspada Jugoslavije. Na njemu su raspršene iluzije o jedinstvenom SKJ i snazi koja može izvesti zemlju iz krize. Jugoslavija je nakon Kongresa zakoračila u još neizvjesnije razdoblje, bez značajnije kohezivne snage koja bi dovela do nekog kompromisa.During the eighties, Yugoslavia was faced with a growing crisis that has put into question the survival of the federation. Conflicting strategies of the future Yugoslavia, based in the republic League of Communists, have finally separated on the 14th LCY extraordinary Congress in January 1990. This article has shown the context in which the Congress was held, as well as its course. In addition, the article exposed the strategies and goals of individual national organizations and the consequences of the collapse of the LCY. Extraordinary 14th Congress of the LCY represents an important episode in the process of the breakup of Yugoslavia. On that Congress, all illusions about the united LCY and the power that can bring the country out of the crisis were dispelled. Yugoslavia faced with the more uncertain period after the Congress, without any significant cohesive force that would lead to some kind of compromise

The Election Campaign of 1990 in Croatia in the light of Croatian and Serbian Journalism

Autor prikazuje osnovne elemente strategije hrvatskog i srpskog novinskog diskursa u predizbornoj kampanji u Hrvatskoj. Kriza federacije i narušeni međunacionalni odnosi utjecali su na širenje mržnje u predizbornoj kampanji. Od hrvatskih novina u analizi su korišteni Vjesnik, Večernji list, Danas i Start, a od srpskih Politika, Duga, NIN i Intervju. U radu se prikazuje liberalizacija i otvaranje tranzicijskog procesa prihvaćanjem stranačkog pluralizma i osnivanjem političkih stranaka. Analizirana su i dva slučaja. Prvi je skup na Petrovoj gori 4. ožujka 1990., koji je hrvatsko novinstvo povezalo sa širenjem „antibirokratske revolucije“, a srpsko ga je prikazalo kao odgovor na jačanje hrvatskog nacionalizma. Drugi slučaj je „atentat“ na predsjednika HDZ-a F. Tuđmana 18. ožujka 1990., koji je u hrvatskom novinstvu interpretiran kao napad na demokratski proces, a u srpskom kao očekivani odgovor isprovociranoga srpskog stanovništva.The author shows the basic elements in the strategies of argumentation employed in Croatian and Serbian journalistic discourse during the electioncampaign in Croatia. The campaign was short, but the events that precededit had a large influence on Croatian and Serbian journalism. In the context of the crisis of federalism and the collapse of national relations the election campaign served to further stimulate national hatred. The article is based on an analysis of the Croatian newspapers Vjesnik, Večernji list, Danas and Start, and the Serbian newspapers Politika, Duga, NIN and Intervju. The first part of the work deals with the liberalization and transition process after the introduction of party pluralism and the creation of new political parties. It also presents the general attributes of the election campaign and the reporting of the Croatian and Serbian papers regarding the campaign. The author also analyses two events that occurred during the campaign: the mass meeting that took place in Petrova Gora on 4 March 1990 and the “assassination attempt” on President of the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union), Franjo Tuđman, in Benkovac on 18 March 1990. The Croatian papers tied the mass meeting at Petrova Gora to the widening “anti-bureaucratic revolution,” while the Serbian papers presentedit as a reply to growing Croatian nationalism. Similarly, the “assassination attempt” directed at Tuđman was interpreted by Croatian journalism as an attack on the democratic process, while the Serbian press presented it as a staged and expected reply from a provoked Serbian population