Original scientific paper

CIVIL SOCIETY AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AS PARTNERS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMBINED SOCIAL POLICY IN CROATIA

Gojko Bežovan ; Professor at the Chair of Social Policy, Centre for Social Work Study, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb

Abstract

The paper is a result of an empirical, action-oriented research about the development of combined social policy in Croatia. Combined social policy is a new system of social policy in which the government, local authorities, civil society organisations, the profit sector, family (the informal sector), and other participants take action instead of the previously monopolistic state. In such a system, government and public administration recognise civil society organisations and other participants as partners and cooperate with them in drafting and ecisionmaking processes and in implementation of social programmes. Recent trends in the development of combined social policy in developed countries reflect the necessity of mobilising all available resources in order to meet the ever increasing and different social needs. The trends of development of combined social policies
depend on the heritage and the types of social regimes. The development of combined social policy is also topical in the countries in transition, and is greatly influenced by inherited issues and the EU accession process. Previous empirical research of combined social policy in Croatia warned about the problems of understanding the concept and of modest degrees of its development. The research particularly analyses the role of civil society and public administration as key
partakers in the development of combined social policy. Research results have shown that development paths for combined social policy in Croatia are being made and that there are examples of good practice. The analysed partakers are bound by mutual cooperation, they are informed about the concept of combined social policy and possess relevant knowledge and ideas about its development. Civil society organisations are more active than public administration in promoting
the idea and amending the programmes of combined social policy. National policy and institutional frameworks are important limitations to the modernisation of social policy. Final remarks contain a warning about the necessity of further research that should include a wider circle of participants.

Keywords

social policy – Croatia; combined social policy – empirical research; public administration; local and regional self-government, the civil; profit, and informal sectors; Europeanization

Hrčak ID:

135757

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/135757

Publication date:

2.6.2009.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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