Economic regionalism in the mirror of Croatian nationalism: The case of Istria, 1990--199

In the 10 years since the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, numerous accounts examined the events leading to the ultimate dissolution and eruption of ethnic violence in this region. The majority of these accounts focused mainly on issues of nationalism. However, other issues, such as subnational regionalism, need to be addressed for a fuller understanding of the region historically as well as contemporarily.;This work deals specifically with political and economic subnational regionalism in Istria from 1990 to 1996, which had a great effect on the Croatian political scene. The author argues that in Istria during the 1990s, the economy was the prime motivator in the shaping of a contemporary regionalist identity and a strong regional movement. Due to the failing economy, renewed centralization by the nationalist ruling party, the Croatian Democratic Alliance (HDZ), and the destructive ethnonational war within Croatia and later in neighboring Bosnia-Hercegovina, the population of Istria felt a general sense of insecurity, causing regionalists led by the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), to play on the existing "nesting balkanisms" of the population and to politicize regional identity as had the nationalists earlier in the decade. The regional party promoted a program of decentralization, regional identity, and political and economic autonomy in the hope of restoring economic stability to the peninsula. To achieve their political goals, the regionalist movement began a campaign to "distance" themselves from the ethnonationalism espoused by the HDZ, which was seen as regressive, violent, and "Balkan." Such "primitive" behavior distanced Croatia from the "West," and thus Istrians felt that a secure economic future was being threatened.;The author shows that the regional movement maintained popular support throughout the decade from the majority of Istria's Croatian voters. This was due not so much to any concrete cultural differences with other Croats elsewhere, but instead to political and economic concerns facilitated by the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the crises of both the war and the economy after disintegration.