СТРАТЕШКА КУЛТУРА КАО ОСНОВ ЗА ГЕОПОЛИТИЧКО ПОЗИЦИОНИРАЊЕ ХРВАТСКЕ
STRATEGIC CULTURE AS A BASIS FOR CROATIA’S GEOPOLITICAL POSITIONING

Author(s): Vladimir Ušljebrka
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Military policy, Geopolitics, Secret Service / Secret Police
Published by: Institut za strategijska istraživanja
Keywords: Croatia; strategic culture; national interests; geopolitics; geostrategy; international relations; security challenges; risks and threats; war
Summary/Abstract: The Republic of Croatia, as an independent state, geographically located on the Balkan Peninsula, i.e. on the road connecting Europe with the Middle East, is an area where the interests of major „world players” intersect in geopolitical terms. It is a Mediterranean country located on the southern edge of Central Europe and as such connects Central with Southeastern Europe, i.e. West with East. Similarly, as with other countries of the former Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia has very little potential for projecting geopolitical power beyond its borders, but its geographical position provides it with the possibility of a favorable geopolitical positioning important for the protection of key national interests. In international politics, it gives priority to relations with the USA and FR Germany and other neighboring countries from NATO and the EU, of which it is also a member, while it sees a danger in neighboring countries that are outside NATO and the EU, as well as possible Russian or Chinese influence in them. In order to fully understand its strategic behavior, possible actions towards neighboring countries that would result from it, and future geopolitical positioning, it is necessary to study strategic culture and use its analytical tools, which has not been the case so far. This paper will attempt to initiate a process that would systematically study the aforementioned research problem, with the intention of determining and defining the influence of the basic characteristics of Croatian strategic culture on its geopolitical positioning in an objective and extremely rational manner, using all available scientific methods, especially the hypothetical-deductive method. The main hypothesis of the paper is: the basic characteristics of Croatian strategic culture are directly related to its geopolitical positioning, which should enable the strengthening of economic capacities necessary for rapid and efficient development, resistance to modern security threats, and adaptability in the event of changes in the global geopolitical order.

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