almanac on security sector oversight in the Western Balkans

Croatia
On the second topic the main processes influencing development of the security sector
structures can be summarised as follows:
• political influence of ruling political elite;
• external-international politics and the mark on societal and administrative
development;
• development of legal framework consistent with European democratic standards;
• building administrative capacities in cooperation with NATO and EU partner
countries;
• implementation of normative framework in line with common standards and
procedures;
• financial accountability of state administration;
• transparency as a measure of openness of official structures;
• cultural acceptance / internalisation of values and departure from less optimal governing;
and
• influence of civil society in process of societal change and SSR.
2.1. Outlining the context
The Croatian example shows that state building, democratisation and SSR are lengthy
processes. There is a unique historical, political and societal context, as well as stages
that are represented within the chronological framework of this chapter.
The initial period of state building (1990-1995) was marked by war and occupation of
almost a third of Croatia. In 1989, most former communist states in Central and Eastern
Europe changed their systems and started to move towards the EU and NATO. This
was usually accomplished simply by changing political systems. Croatia, unfortunately,
needed a more difficult road. This prevented Croatia from advancing further towards
Euro-Atlantic integration. Croatians were forced to cope with problems of war and
needing to fight for international recognition. In addition, internal politics did not
bring democracy and the rule of law and certainly did not meet criteria for Euro-
Atlantic integration as with other ex-communist countries. Initially, negative consequences
of the rigid domestic and foreign policies were mediated by the status of
victim of the aggressive war, but after miscalculated involvement in events in Bosnia
and Herzegovina (BiH) it became progressively harder to maintain this position.
This period of “democratic deficit” (1995-2000) represented an era of semi autocratic
regime with all its negative consequences. It is clear that these first two periods, given
the very nature of the political and security environment, had very little in common
with real democratisation and almost nothing to do with SSR and overall reform.
On the contrary, the period starting with the electoral and constitutional changes in
2000 opened new opportunities for the country to initiate necessary reforms, including
SSR, and take part in the accession process of the EU and NATO. This has brought
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Almanac on Security Sector Oversight in the Western Balkans