Original scientific paper
Croatian Strategy of EU Integration 2000-2007 – A Comparative Study
Mario Sošić
; HR-52352 Kanfanar, Brajkovići 13, Croatia
Abstract
Since the European Council established that Croatia met the conditions
for becoming a potential candidate for EU membership in
June 2000, the integration process directed towards candidature and
full EU membership was the fundamental Croatian “national strategy”
and foreign policy objective. In the period from 2000 to 2007
the process developed with “varying velocity” and varying levels of
success. Our research objective is to identify and describe the strategic
activity of the main external and internal collective actors involved
in the process (the Croatian governments and the EU). Furthermore,
we aim to evaluate the accomplished integrative results of
their interaction in the observed eight-year period. Our analysis is
based on the theoretical approach of actor-centred institutionalism
and the game theory model. The result of the analysis shows that Dr
Ivo Sanader’s one-party government (2003-2007) was more successful
than Ivica Račan’s coalition government (2000-2003) in managing
the integration process aimed at the accession of Croatia to the
European Union. The impact and quality of EU support to the process
was ambivalent, quite in accordance with the European Union’s ambiguous
and complex structure and policy.
Keywords
actors; collective actors; actor-centered institutionalism; game theory; strategic activity; Croatian government; integration process; European Union
Hrčak ID:
26402
URI
Publication date:
3.6.2008.
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