HRVATSKI STRANAČKI SUSTAV 1989-2002.
CROATIAN PARTY SYSTEM 1989-2002.

Author(s): Goran Čular
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems, Political behavior, Politics and society
Published by: CEDET Centar za demokratsku tranziciju
Keywords: party system; political parties; Croatia; elections; party competition; clefts; development
Summary/Abstract: The author follows the development of the party system in Croatia from its inception until 2000 through several stages of development: a) the formative stage, in which all later relevant political parties emerge; b) the stabilization phase, during which the parties achieve relatively stable inter-party relations; and c) the confrontation phase, during which there is a manifest conflict between the regime and the opposition. During the entire period, the Croatian party system developed as a type of predominant party system, with the HDZ as the dominant party, which determined the overall dynamics of the party system in the observed period. The existing relations are not only an expression of the current political circumstances, but of the strengthening and matching effects of two historical splits: the territorial-cultural split and the ideological-cultural split. The parliamentary elections of 2000 did not only lead to a nominal change of government, but also to a significant restructuring of the party system, a completely different way of functioning of the government and the abandonment of the type of predominant system. This fact opens the problems of searching for a new party balance, further institutionalization of individual parties and the opening of new dimensions of party competition. Depending on the answers to these questions, it will be known whether moderate or polarized pluralism is developing in Croatia.

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