Original scientific paper
POLITICAL TOLERANCE IN CROATIA
Miroslav Vujević
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The poll on political tolerance was conducted on a 772-subject sample. Because of the long-lasting totalitarian system and the short period of democracy, a rather low level of political tolerance was expected. However, the results of the poll have not confirmed these expectations but showed a high level of political tolerance instead. Similar findings have been obtained by an American survey conducted in several European countries, including Croatia. This means that the political tolerance in Croatia has not been shaped by the totalitarian system but by the pluralist traits of the Croatian culture, ensuing from numerous contacts with a plethora of different cultures. In order for the pluralist democracy in Croatia to function democratically, appropriate legal prerequisites and institutions do not suffice; the people whose is in line with the principles of pluralist democracy are central to this as well. Pluralist democracy legalizes various political options and enables the citizens to organize themselves and act in accordance with the embraced option. All this, however, is a dead letter if people are not willing to accept the existence and the activism of different political options. That is why the concept of political tolerance always goes hand in hand with the concept of pluralist democracy. The Latin word tolerantia means indulgence, patience (Žepić, 1979). That is why political tolerance is usually understood as a readiness to bear or put up with political options and their operationalizations which are obnoxious and even repugnant to us (Mendus, 1988., Primorac 1989., 1994., Sullivan 1989., Vujčić 1995.). The essence of political is not tolerance and patience but non-restriction of political freedoms and political pluralism. Those who accept political pluralism find it easier to bear the existence of various political options, even those they do not approve of. They more readily accept the existence of various political options and nurture a less intensive feeling of intolerance and bigotry. So, tolerance means accepting and not only forbearing different political options.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
106031
URI
Publication date:
16.1.1996.
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