Professional paper
CROATIAN SOCIALISTS' CONTRIBUTION TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY
Branko Horvat
; Faculty of Economics, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Social-Democratic Party of Croatia and Slavonia was founded in 1894, a spin-off of similar political developments in other parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Due to economic and social backwardness of Croatia, industrial workers were rather low in numbers, while trade unions were banned. The party was mostly made up of craftsmen; there were no intellectuals in it who would be proponents of socialist theory and programmes. That is why its efforts were directed towards the hands-on protection of workers' interests. Another aspect of its mainstream political activities was their opposition to both Croatian and Serbian nationalism and chauvinism and their advocacy of Croatian independence. Due to their unwavering support for human rights and democratic political freedoms, Croatian social democrats were often subject to state repression. The author draws parallels with today's political situation as well as conclusions about the agenda of the leftist parties in Croatia.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
105916
URI
Publication date:
18.6.1996.
Visits: 994 *