engleski

Privatisation of Politics in Croatia: Analysis of the 2003 and 2007 Parliamentary Elections

In the light of the growing discussion on the increasing ‘privatisation of politics’ or ‘politicization of the politicians’ private personae’, this paper, looks at this process in the specific context of one new parliamentary democracy. Using content analysis, I examine the scope and the type of privatisation as it was advanced both by the parties and the media in 2003 and 2007 parliamentary elections in Croatia. Firstly, I investigate to what extent and in what ways party campaigns used certain private cues to communicate with the electorate, and secondly, I ask to what extent were the media interested in covering private traits of the candidates or to carry any information concerning their personal lives. I differentiate between several forms of privatisation focusing more closely on the specific ‘humanisation’ techniques i.e. attempts of the party leaders to appear ‘human’ and in touch with ‘ordinary’ people. Finally, this paper discusses what accounts for the presence or absence of the private cues in Croatian public discourse: is manifestation of the phenomenon in Croatia as an emerging democracy any different from the one experienced by the old democracies ; are there any differences between the two elections, and finally, what is the importance of the country’s specific political and social setting in explaining the ‘weight’ and the character of the phenomenon?

personalisation; privatisation of politics; Croatia; parliamentary elections

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