According to itypeusa, Croatia is a state in the Western Balkans which declared itself independent from the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991. This act was among the triggers of the conflicts that broke out in the Balkan region in the early 1990s. Like Bosnia-Herzegovina, albeit to a lesser extent, Croatia suffered the invasion of the Yugoslav federal forces: these had intervened in favor of the Serbian population of Croatia which in December 1991 had organized itself in the Serbian Republic of Krajina (RsK) – entity which brought together the residents of Craina and Slavonia and which had no international recognition – as opposed to the independence policy pursued by the Croatian president Franjo Tuđman. Despite attempts at a ceasefire, the official withdrawal of Yugoslav forces in 1992 and the establishment of a mission of peacekeeping on the part of the United Nations (UN), Unprofor, the conflict continued until 1995 – involving the Croatian territories of Bosnia-Herzegovina between 1992 and 1993 – albeit to a lesser extent. The Lightning and Storm operations between May and August 1995 brought back control of Zagreb over the entire Croatian territory within a few weeks. The easternmost regions of the country (Slavonia, Baranja and Sirmia) were definitively reinstated on January 15, 1998 at the end of the period of temporary administration by the UN (Untaes), a stabilization mission established in January 1996 on the basis of the Dayton Accords. and the Erdut Agreement (1995). Relations with Serbia and neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina (a region in which a large Serbian community resides alongside the Croatian and Muslim ones) have improved, European Union (Eu). One of the geopolitical characteristics of Croatia, compared to other states in the region, is that it has the largest number of kilometers of coastline on the Adriatic Sea. This element affects the country’s economic and political structure and makes it unique in the Balkan area. The priority of the Croatian government in the last decade has been to create the conditions for the country’s accession to the European Union, an objective achieved on 1 July 2013 (the access treaties were signed in December 2011): Croatia became the 28th state of the EU. To achieve this goal, Zagreb has implemented profound economic, social and political reforms, particularly affecting the stabilization of the country. Croatia had already joined NATO in 2009, defining its international position in terms of security. After the war and the government experience of former president Franjo Tuđman, Croatia amended the Constitution of 1990, removing many powers from the president and transferring them to the parliament, which was made unicameral (previously it was bicameral). It currently has 151 members, elected in December 2011 and in office for four years. The ruling coalition is made up of four parties and is led by the leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDp), Zoran Milanović. Although the country enjoys relative political stability, the recent splits within the SDP and the defeat of the latter during the European consultations of May 2014 – which instead saw the victory of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) – leave open the possibilities for recourse to early elections. The European vote also highlighted the green party Sustainable Development for Croatia (OraH) of former environment minister, Mirela Holy, in the executive Milanović. The administrative structure of Croatia is very centralized and few legislative and executive prerogatives are granted to the 20 counties into which the country is divided.
Dictionary of History
Croatia Eastern European state. After being under the control of the Habsburg Empire for four centuries in 1918, Croatia became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, where it was dominated by the Serbs. After the invasion of Nazi Germany in Yugoslavia (1941), the fascist regime of the Ustashas was established in Croatia, which unleashed ethnic and political persecutions. In 1946 the Croatia joined the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1991, following the crisis of the Yugoslav regime, it proclaimed its independence under the leadership of the nationalist F. Tudjman. The Serbian minority, opposed to secession, occupied a third of the Croatian territory by proclaiming
the Serbian Republic of Krajina. The Croatian population of the area was forced to flee due to the violent persecutions. In 1992 the hostilities were stopped and the UN sent a military contingent, but the Croatia launched a new offensive (1995) reconquering Slavonia and Krajina, with consequent persecutions against the Serbs. In the nov. 1995 Croatia signed the Dayton agreements, which ended the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. However, the internal situation, characterized by strong authoritarianism and a severe economic crisis, continued to worsen. After the death of Tudjman (1999), the opposition strengthened by making their candidate prevail, S. Mesić, elected twice president (2000 and 2005); in feb. 2010 became President of the Republic I. Josipovič.
