Democratisation and Value Orientations in Croatian Society

The starting point of this paper is the assumption that the values of democracy and value orientations based on them are crucial for the realization of a democratic system as the main goal of transition. Therefore, the question arises as to the predominant social values and value orientations in Croatian society in the period of the fi rst decade of transition and their infl uence on the process of democratisation. Value orientations are discussed on the basis of several relevant studies and from three diff erent viewpoints: the general (modernisational), the political and the sociocultural. Certain sociopsychological aspects of their formation are also taken into account. A variety of value orientations, their features and their eff ects on social and political changes is specifi ed, along with the impact of transition-related changes on their (trans)formation. In spite of the democratic institutional and normative constitution and the pronounced presence of civic and democratic social values, the current value matrix is still largely characterised by traditional and pre-civic social values. Given such a value basis, it is diffi cult to eff ectuate democratic functioning of society and steer its democratic development in the right direction. The degree of correspondence between the predominant social values and the proclaimed democratic norms is relatively low. This sociocultural phenomenon seems to be the main inhibitor of democratic development, markedly stronger than the economic and social crisis