The Impact of the EU Membership on the Consolidation of Croatia's Democracy

Abstract

This study aims at analysing the democratic practices taken on by Croatia during its negotiations with the European Union in the past two decades. It targets policies about European Union enlargement and political conditionality, which, as can be seen in this study, have been important tools in the process of democratic consolidation not only in Croatia but also in other countries within the Balkan region. As analysed in this study, there were a number of reasons that inhibited Croatia from increasing inclusion of democratic practices within the country. However, as from the first day that Croatia gained independence, the European Union claimed that the way forward for this country was to guarantee democracy. This would lead to the initiation of negotiations with the European Union on full membership. The closure of such negotiations saw Croatia become the 28th European country to join the European Union. Nevertheless, through a number of policies implemented by the European Union, Croatia has now managed to guarantee a consolidated and stable democracy. Keeping this in mind, the crisis in terms of democracy is still not over, and some problems, mainly in terms of corruption, keep arising from time to time.