In this paper I engage with the broader debate about the failures of representative democracy through a critical analysis of political cleavages in Croatia from 1991 until the present. Building on existing studies which repeatedly show that in Croatia political party competition is not structured along socioeconomic cleavages, I argue that a socioeconomic cleavage exists in society, but is not represented in the parliamentary arena. This hypothesis is backed up by data from the ISSP survey (2009), aggregate comparative data as well as an overview of existing studies. Available evidence points to growing social stratification in society, while the citizens of Croatia are aware of socioeconomic inequalities, they exhibit egalitarian value orientations and their economic preferences seem coherent when approached from a social class perspective.
Full reference: Dolenec, D. (2012). 'The absent socioeconomic cleavage in Croatia: a failure of representative democracy?'. Croatian Political Science Review, (49)5: 69-88
Authors: Danijela Dolenec