Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.11567/met.2025.3
The Origins of the Conflict Dimension in Croatian-Serbian Relations
Saša Mrduljaš
orcid.org/0000-0002-1946-2243
; Institut društvenih znanosti Ivo Pilar – Područni centar Split, Split, Hrvatska
*
* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
Prior to the Ottoman incursion and subsequent conquest of most of Southeastern
Europe, the central South Slavic region – comprising present-day Croatia, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Kosovo – was marked by relatively clear
political and religious boundaries. To the west, within the Catholic sphere, were
the Kingdoms of Slavonia, Croatia, and Dalmatia, the Kingdom of Bosnia, and the
Republic of Dubrovnik. To the east, within the Orthodox sphere, lay the Serbian
Despotate and Zeta. The Ottomans swiftly conquered Serbia, Zeta, and a large part
of Bosnia, where the majority of the indigenous population remained. In 1463/64,a long-standing Croatian-Bosnian-Hungarian defensive line was established along
the Klis–Jajce–Doboj–Janja axis, extending toward the Danube. Over the following
130 years, the Ottomans advanced this line by only 130–150 kilometres westward,
reaching the Karlobag–Slunj–Karlovac–Sisak–Đurđevac axis. As they progressed,
they almost entirely depopulated the newly conquered territories and repopulated
them primarily with Orthodox Serbian settlers speaking the Neo-Shtokavian Ijekavian
dialect, originating from eastern Herzegovina and Montenegro.
Simultaneously, particularly during the first half of the 16th century, they carried
out mass Islamization of the Bosnian – and, to a lesser extent, Herzegovinian – population,
laying the foundations for the emergence of a new Muslim Bosniak ethnic
community.
Alongside destruction, depopulation, and religious conversions, the Ottoman presence
inadvertently triggered certain processes that, from the perspective of the modern
Croatian nation, may be viewed as positive. It contributed to the unification of
the fragmented remnants of former Slavonia and Croatia into a singular kingdom
identifiable by the Croatian name, and subsequently stimulated the socio-cultural
and political consolidation of the Catholic population across the central South Slavic
region, driven by an anti-Ottoman impetus. This created a crucial precondition
for the eventual formation of the Croatian nation once favourable circumstances
emerged.
With the conclusion of the anti-Ottoman liberation wars, spanning from the late 17th
to mid-18th century, major migratory movements ceased, and the ethnic landscape
– largely preserved until the disintegration of Yugoslavia – was definitively shaped.
These wars also played a key role in determining the contemporary border between
Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Compared to the pre-Ottoman period, the religious and ethnic composition of the
region underwent a fundamental transformation. During pre-Ottoman times, Orthodox-
Serbian populations were virtually absent from the territory of present-day
Croatia, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, they were concentrated mainly in eastern
Herzegovina and parts of the Upper Drina region – altogether covering less than
five percent of the combined territory of present-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
By contrast, in the post-Ottoman period, regions predominantly inhabited
by Orthodox Serbs roughly accounted for thirty-seven percent of the total area of
these two countries. The Catholic-Croatian population remained a majority only in
the western, northern, and southern peripheries. Muslims (Bosniaks) constituted the
majority in the eastern half of Bosnia and Herzegovina but were significantly interspersed
with both Catholic-Croatian and, even more so, Orthodox-Serbian populations.
The conflict with the Ottomans resulted not only in the mass extermination of the
Catholic-Croatian population, especially in the central territories – many of which
were not regained during the anti-Ottoman wars – but also in unfavourable political
developments under Habsburg rule. Large parts of Croatia were excluded from
the jurisdiction of its national institutions and were instead administered as part
of the Military Frontier, directly under the Imperial Court. This arrangement persisted
until 1871/81, when these territories were reintegrated into Croatia, which,
in the meantime, had been subordinated to Hungarian rule following the Austro-
Hungarian Compromise of 1867. Simultaneously, Istria and Dalmatia – having come
under Habsburg control after the fall of Venetian and French rule – remained permanently detached from Croatia. Following the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia
and Herzegovina in 1878, a state-sponsored project promoting a distinct Bosniak
national identity was imposed, including upon the Catholic-Croatian population.
In sum, Ottoman conquests, depopulation, colonization, religious conversions, and
the weakening of Croatian autonomy under Habsburg authority created an adverse
context for the emergence of the Croatian nation.
Under these conditions, the central aim of Croatian national ideology became the
unification of all Croatian lands under Habsburg rule into a single, autonomous or
semi-autonomous Kingdom of Croatia. After the Austro-Hungarian occupation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, efforts were made to incorporate these territories as well.
In contrast, the Serbs managed to preserve the core of their pre-Ottoman ethnic territories,
where, during the decline of Ottoman rule, and in a manner similar to the Romanians,
Bulgarians, Montenegrins, and Greeks, they reestablished a Serbian state,
internationally recognised in 1878. Furthermore, they succeeded in expanding into
the majority-Albanian areas of Kosovo and into Macedonia. During their national
consolidation, the idea of a Greater Serbia emerged, aiming to encompass all territories
historically inhabited by Serbs, particularly in the West, encompassing much
of present-day Croatia and the entirety of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including areas
inhabited by Croats and Bosniaks.
Consequently, Croatian and Serbian national state-building projects have been in
fundamental opposition from their very inception, with overlapping territorial
claims. This inherently generated a conflictual dimension in Croatian-Serbian relations.
The disparity in national positions further intensified this antagonism, as the
Serbian advantages far outweighed those of the Croats. Nevertheless, this conflictual
dimension did not predominantly shape Croatian-Serbian relations until the establishment
of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918.
This delay can be attributed primarily to the influence of foreign powers, which exerted
significant pressure on both Croats and Serbs, particularly those in Serbia, thus
constraining their political actions. Consequently, efforts were made to transcend
existing antagonisms, notably through cooperation based on the idea of Yugoslavism,
although this idea was interpreted quite differently in Croatian and Serbian
circles. Furthermore, while the general population was becoming increasingly aware
of their national identities, it remained largely politically disengaged, living in rural,
isolated, and underdeveloped settings. As such, they were ill-equipped to recognise
the political nature of Croatian-Serbian relations or to actively shape them.
Both of these “buffering” factors would weaken significantly with the formation of
the Yugoslav state, in which Croats and Serbs – alongside others – would, for the
first time, find themselves “alone with each other.”
Therefore, the emergence of the conflictual dimension in Croatian-Serbian relations
must be placed within the broader context of nation formation and the pursuit of respective
national goals. The Ottomans merely laid the structural groundwork, which
would prove enduring, for the eventual emergence of this conflict. Attempts to trace
the origin of this antagonism to the proselytising ambitions of the Catholic or Orthodox
Church are unsubstantiated, as such efforts were products of ecclesiastical policies
sanctioned by state powers with no connection to Croatian or Serbian national
interests. Similarly, the conflict cannot be traced to the involvement of parts of the
Orthodox-Serbian population in Ottoman conquests or their role in the separationof the Military Frontier. This is primarily because segments of the Catholic-Croatian
population also participated in Ottoman campaigns, and the same population,
motivated by class interests and forming the majority within the Military Frontier,
supported the Habsburg Court in its confrontation with Croatian state institutions.
Ultimately, both Orthodox and Catholic frontiersmen, including those in Dalmatia,
jointly advocated for the incorporation of their regions into the Kingdom of Croatia
during a time when their military significance was waning and national-formative
processes had not yet fully gained momentum.
Ključne riječi
Croats; Serbs; Ottoman Empire; Croatian-Serbian relations; conflict
Hrčak ID:
331741
URI
Datum izdavanja:
4.6.2025.
Posjeta: 0 *