POLITIČKA KULTURA, AUTORITARNOST I DEMOKRATSKA TRANZICIJA U HRVATSKOJ
POLITICAL CULTURE, AUTHORITARIANITY AND DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION IN CROATIA

Author(s): Ivan Šiber
Subject(s): Politics, Sociology, Nationalism Studies, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Post-Communist Transformation
Published by: CEDET Centar za demokratsku tranziciju
Keywords: transition; political culture; authoritarian personality; Croatia
Summary/Abstract: Political changes during 1989 and 1990, both in the area of ​​the former Yugoslavia and in the whole of Eastern Europe, showed the historical breakdown of one model and one idea - utopia, and at the same time even more strongly actualized the problem of political culture and its suitability for a democratic organization within a multi-party political system. In other words, the basic question arises: To what extent does the absence of a tradition of civil society, as well as the presence of an authoritarian tradition, hinder the development of democratic processes and relations? The text shows that the value vacuum created by the collapse of the previous system was simply replaced by new strongholds, primarily nation, religion and history. The development of democratic political culture, as well as changes in authoritarian consciousness, require time and a process of political resocialization. Empirical research shows that in the territory of the former Yugoslavia until 1990, as well as in the territory of the Republic of Croatia after 1990, authoritarian values ​​with all the characteristics found in research around the world are strongly present: the greater the authoritarianism, the greater the exclusivity towards others, the greater choice of right-wing (nationalist) parties, greater religiosity, orientation to tradition, and the like. This is, above all, about the so-called cognitive authoritarianism, means the form of evaluation and behavior taken over by the process of socialization in a traditional environment with a dominant parochial political culture. According to research data, younger and more educated respondents show significantly less authoritarianism than the older and less educated part of the population.

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