TERITORIJALNA ORGANIZACIJA I REGIONALIZAM Hrvatski slučaj
TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION AND REGIONALISM Croatian case

Author(s): Lino Veljak
Subject(s): Politics, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
Published by: CEDET Centar za demokratsku tranziciju
Keywords: regionalism; centralism; local self-government; administration; democratic control; euroregions
Summary/Abstract: In the paper, the author provides a historical overview of the genesis of the regional division of the Republic of Croatia, as well as a description of the development of territorial organization and local self-government. Special attention was paid to the development of territorial self-government after 1990. In that period, the antithesis of the centralist-statist and regionalist approach to the problem of territorial organization of the country, with a completely marginal federalist option, is noticeable. The author points out the differences between Croatian regions dominated by the regionalist option (Istria, Međimurje) and areas with a majority Serbian population. After presenting the constitutional and legal regulations of the territorial administration and local self-government, we move on to a critical consideration of the alternative regionalism - centralism. The issue of regionalization must be viewed as part of the antithesis of centralization and decentralization, and this is rooted in the answer to the question of whether state administration should be deconcentrated and to what extent it should be treated as a direct transmission of power. The author advocates for finding the optimal balance between local, regional, national and supranational instances of democratic decision-making and management of general and common affairs (which must also be subject to democratic control). In doing so, it is necessary to take into account the functional and cultural dimension of the problem, as well as the perspective of establishing cross-border Euroregions.

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