Институт За Политичке Студије

Добрињска 11
11000 Београд

Контакт подаци

THE APPROACH OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA AND THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA TOWARD THEIR COMPATRIOTS IN THE REGION AND THE DIASPORA: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FOREIGN POLICY AND IDENTITY STRATEGIES

Сажетак

This paper examines how the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Croatia, as post-Yugoslav kin-states, formulate and implement policies toward their compatriots in the region and the diaspora. The study focuses on the concepts of the “Serbian World” and the “Croatian Corpus” as identity-based, political, and institutional frameworks for cross-border national cohesion. The theoretical framework is deliberately eclectic, combining constructivist approaches to identity with the concepts of the nationalizing state, transnational nationalism, diaspora governance, and soft power, each of which serves a distinct analytical purpose. The methodological approach employs a qualitative comparative case-study design that combines qualitative document analysis of legal and institutional material with interpretive qualitative content analysis of strategic documents, institutional materials and political discourse. By integrating legal articulation, political integration, cultural and educational infrastructure, and international positioning within a common comparative framework, the analysis shows that the Serbian model relies primarily on cultural and symbolic mobilization and on a mixed network of state institutions and non-state religious, cultural, and media actors. By contrast, the Croatian model is characterized by a higher degree of legal formalization, institutional coordination, and political integration of Croats outside the Republic of Croatia. The paper concludes that compatriots abroad are not merely objects of cultural concern for their kin-states, but also important resource for foreign-policy positioning, identity cohesion, and the projection of soft power.

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