Does the European social model matter?: an analysis of social policy change in Croatia 1996-2007

The thesis analyses the constellation of domestic and international actors that play a role in the field of social policy, concentrating on the role of international financial institutions and the European Union, but primarily focusing on how this influence was modified through the discourse of political parties and the expectations of the electorate in Croatia. The concept of the European Social Model is used to establish Europeanization of social policymaking in Croatia. The first part presents an analysis of the influence of European Social Model on the discourse of two main political parties in Croatia, which is in the second part complemented with a historic institutional analysis of social policy change in Croatia in the period 1996 - 2007. The findings show that both the SDP and the CDU party programmes have become more Europeanised as the process of European integration has advanced, with some differences. The SDP programmes exhibit continuity, while the CDU programmes show a strong re-orientation towards Europe and European Christian democracy since the 2003 parliamentary election. Further on, the influence of European integration with respect to implemented social policies in Croatia has strengthened considerably since 2005, when Croatia became a candidate country to the EU. Finally, according to both EU and domestic assessments, social policy has not been a political priority in Croatia. In conclusion, political parties, though Europeanized in discourse, seem not to have been able to implement their policy goals in the field of social policy, due in part to the pressure from the electorate and to international obligations, but also due to the fact that there is insufficient policymaking and implementation capacity in the Croatian government