Unutarstranačka demokracija u Hrvatskoj: (Ne)moć običnih članova u procesu stvaranja stranačkih politika
Intra-party democracy in Croatia: the power(lessness) of ordinary members in the process of party policy-making

Summary/Abstract: The paper presents a contemporary study on intra-party democracy in Croatia and offers an analysis of the participation of ordinary members in the internal policy-making processes. Formal and actual participation of ordinary members in the Croatian parties are explored in order to get an insight of the intra-party distribution of power. The study included eight parties: HDZ, HNS, HSU, HSS, HSLS, IDS, Most and SDP in the period following the 2016 general elections. In the first stage, party statutes were analyzed, while in the second stage interviews were conducted with high-ranking party officials. Results show that the level of intra-party democracy and participation of ordinary members in the decision-making process on party policies is exceptionally low. The analysis also revealed a high level of concentration of power in the hands of a small circle of people gathered around the party president in almost all relevant political parties.

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