Preliminary communication
The Croatian Military as a Factor of Social Development – Opinions of the Croatian Public
Ivan ROGIĆ
; Institut društvenih znanosti Ivo Pilar, Zagreb
Anka MIŠETIĆ
; Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Zagreb
Tomislav SMERIĆ
; Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Zagreb
Abstract
The paper analyses the role of the Croatian Military as a
factor of development. The analysis draws on previous
theoretical considerations and empirical research on the
social role of the military, particularly the functional
transformation of contemporary militaries. Despite "sector"
limitations, it is clear that the "postmodern military" engages
in new types of tasks, thus broadening those "traditional"
ones. There are several specific fields which the Croatian
military can participate in as a factor of development: the
field of education, economic development, and the field of
local development and environmental protection. In this
paper the focus is on aspects of local development and environmental protection as specific areas which are
estimated as having a potential to develop successfully within
the framework of civil-military cooperation. Analysed were
the results of empirical research of the attitudes of the
Croatian public regarding these issues. The topics that the
examinees expressed their attitudes on were: acceptability of
certain tasks, assessment of the previous influence of the
Croatian Armed Forces on social development, opinions
about budget expenditure, as well as management of
military buildings. Although the examinees have assessed
with relative difficulty the developmental role of the military,
based on research it can be stated that they are aware of the
functional transformation of the military. In other words, the
public both accepts and expects that the Croatian Military
will adjust to its new "non-combat" roles.
Keywords
Croatian military; social development; public opinion
Hrčak ID:
38956
URI
Publication date:
30.6.2009.
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