Croatia: Past, Present and Future Perspectives

$230.00

Matko Marušić (Editor)
University of Split, Croatia

Series: Europe: Past, Present and Future
BISAC: POL058000

Croatia is today popularly known as a beautiful country, with an excellent soccer team, but the rest of its long history is still not well known outside scholarly circles. It is less known for example that Croatia started as an ancient kingdom established in the 7th century. It lost its independence in the 11th century and had a troubled history until the first democratic elections in 1990 and independence in 1991.

Since the Great Schism in the 11th century, Croatia has been the easternmost country of the Catholic West facing the Orthodox East. Attacked by the Ottoman Turks in the 15th century, it has been called ever since Antemurale Christianitatis (The Bulwark of Christianity). Croatia went through difficult times during the two World Wars and in the inter-war and the post-war periods until it won its independence and later gained membership to the European Union in 2013. This book reveals important information about its history, the struggles it endured to gain independence, the key problems of post-communist social and economic transition, and prospects for the future, summarized at the end as an analysis of its strengths and weaknesses, as well as its external threats and opportunities.

The book is divided into two parts, “Croatian History Timeline” and “Past in Present and Future”, because the Croatian past informs its present and future in a profound way.

There are few sources in English that present so many until-now unknown aspects of this European country as does this book. It may be said that it is the first reliable and objective guide to give essential understanding of the Republic of Croatia published so far in the English language.

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Table of Contents

Preface

Part I: Croatian History Timeline

Chapter 1. Overview of the Croatian History from the 7th Century to the Accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union in 2013
(Karmen Perković, History Teacher, Primary School Ivana Gorana Kovačića, Zagreb, Croatia)

Chapter 2. The Croatian Language
(Sanda Ham, PhD, Department of Croatian Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University, Osijek, Croatia)

Chapter 3. The Croatian Question in Austria-Hungary at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century: Between Federalism and Trialism
(Željko Holjevac, PhD, Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences, Zagreb, Croatia)

Chapter 4. Field Marshal Svetozar Boroević and the Way to Croatian National Unification
(Darko Richter, MD, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia)

Chapter 5. Alojzije Stepinac: Profile in Courage
(Esther Gitman, PhD, Independent Historian, New York, NY, US)

Chapter 6. Can Communism Have a Human Face? The Testimony of a Prominent Croatian Catholic Intellectual Smiljana Rendić from the Mid-Sixties in Yugoslavia
(Marino Erceg, Journalist, Glas Koncila [The Voice of the Council], Zagreb, Croatia)

Chapter 7. Croatian Spring: The Croatian National Reform Movement in Socialist Yugoslavia (1967 – 1972)
(Josip Mihaljević, PhD, Croatian Institute of History, Zagreb, Croatia)

Chapter 8. The Croatian War of Independence (1991 – 1995)
(Andrijana Perković Paloš, PhD, Independent Historian, Split, Croatia)

Part II: Past in Present and Future

Chapter 9. Croatian-Serbian Relations in the 19th and 20th Century
(Mihovil Biočić , MD, PhD, formerly Professor of Pediatric Surgery, University of Split School of Medicine, Split, Croatia)

Chapter 10. Understanding History in Croatia Today: A Missed Opportunity in the Film “Diary of Diana Budisavljević”
(Igor Vukić, Society for Research of the Threefold Jasenovac Camp, Zagreb, Croatia)

Chapter 11. Croatia: Future Perspectives: The SWOT Analysis
(Matko Marušić, MD, PhD, University of Split, Split, Croatia)

Index

Reviews

“Croatia is a small country with a great cultural heritage and a turbulent past. For centuries, Croatians defended Europe from Ottoman aggression from the east while keeping an eye on the cunning Venetians to the west. Today Croatia is a first-class tourist destination. The coast is the most stunning part of Croatia, with over 1,000 islands, crystal-clear seas and beautiful beaches, and its unique medieval cities built of stone – Dubrovnik as the most famous among them. This book presents equally stunning history of Croatia, as well as the future prospects for the country as an independent state and a member of the European Union.” – Dr. Žarko Domljan, the first President of the democratically elected Croatian Parliament (1990)

“Those who know nothing or little about Croatia will learn the truth about it from this book while those who think that they know enough will be surprised to discover a wealth of important facts about the past and the future of this beautiful country.”  – Vinko Sabljo, President, Croatian World Congress

“For those seeking an historically accurate and multifaceted view of Croatia, Croatia, Past Present and Future, edited by Matko Marusic, is a rewarding source. Articles by prominent scholars and historians correct past distortions of the history of Croatia. Includes an interesting perspective on the future of Croatia, and an illuminating article on the Croatian language . Highly readable, authoritative, objective.”  – Marvin S. Zuckerman, Dean of Academic Affairs; Chair, Department of English, Los Angeles Valley College

“Recognizing the fact that there are very few comprehensive texts by Croatian authors about Croatia published in the English language, the authors of this newly-released book sought to present a text which would appeal to the population of English-speaking people who are interested in learning about Croatia’s historical evolution. This book is especially important to Americans and anyone who knows English, to finally pave the way for the truth about us and our Home.” READ MORE…  – Professor, Dr.sc. Mihovil Biočić, CFU Lodge 2006, Split, Coratia, Zajednicar, Croatian Fraternal Union of America, April 2021, Volume 116/No. 9

“The book, Croatia: Past, Present and Future Perspectives, is a grateful starting point for studying Croatian history, reflecting on its present and vision of its future. This interesting, readable and useful work represents a step towards the approach and promotion of Croatian history, language, culture, heritage and identity in the world.” (For the complete review in Croatian, please click here) – Dr. Marija Benić Penava, Associate Professor, University of Dubrovnik, Department of Economics and Business, Dubrovnik, Croatia

 

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