CROATIA IN TRANSITION Volume 44 2026 x INTRODUCTION DARIO ZORIC 1 THE COMPLIANCE TRAP: CROATIA’S STALLED PATH TO SUSTAINABILITY Croatia’s accession to the EU required adopting policy frameworks to meet European environmental standards. While successful in legal alignment, sustainability efforts remain constrained due to structural economic challenges, governmental distrust, and a persistent innovation gap. This article examines Croatia’s current “compliance trap” through the tourism and agriculture sectors, highlighting how limited capacity hinders progress. It argues that strengthening human capital and rebuilding institutional trust are essential for transitioning from compliance to leadership in sustainable governance. ESTEFANIA RAVELO REYNA 9 THE PERCEPTION GAP: JUDICIAL CORRUPTION AND INSTITUTIONAL DISTRUST IN CROATIA Croatia faces a hyperbolized trust deficit, where citizens’ perception of judicial corruption significantly exceeds their direct experience. This distrust is rooted in Yugoslav-era patronage (veze) and 1990s cronyism that have persisted through the EU-mandated reforms. High-profile scandals that involve grand corruption and systemic bias reinforce narratives of elite impunity, deter investment, and weaken social cohesion. To restore institutional legitimacy, Croatia must implement rigorous auditing, digital transparency, and independent civilian oversight. SOPHIA E. TASKOV 18 RURAL CROATIA’S GERIATRIC CARE GAP The geriatric population in rural Croatia faces a worsening health-care crisis. The increasingly aging population struggles to receive the adequate care they need to remain healthy. This article analyzes barriers to care including workforce emigration, inadequate training, uneven facility distribution, and insufficient funding. Possible solutions are proposed to improve health-care access, reduce caregiver burden, and enhance health outcomes for the elderly. Croatia must expand its network by collaborating with international health-care personnel and reassess funding allocations to provide care to older citizens in rural areas. LAILA S. DAGES 26 CONCENTRATED OWNERSHIP AND DEMOCRATIC ACCOUNTABILITY IN CROATIAN TELEVISION Croatia’s television broadcasting landscape is characterized by concentrated ownership and significant foreign control, both of which raise concerns about democratic accountability. Post-Yugoslav privatization aimed to promote media pluralism; however, it reconfigured prominent structural weaknesses in the system rather than solving them. This article assesses the vulnerabilities of Croatia’s contemporary media system, explores how these vulnerabilities significantly distort the media environment, and examines the implications for democratic accountability in Croatia. AARON O. WILLIAMS 35 LAYERED BUREAUCRACY AND THE STIFLING OF INNOVATION IN CROATIA Croatia’s many economic transitions have left the country laden with administrative obstacles. Each reform designed to help the economy through its changes has instead layered on preceding ones, creating numerous bureaucratic barriers to prospering entrepreneurship and innovation. This article details Croatia’s economy through phases of transition, from Yugoslav socialism to EU accession, and outlines present-day inefficiencies. It concludes with policy recommendations that could help the country develop a more effective innovation ecosystem. NATALIE R. JAVITT 43 FRAGMENTATION, TOURISM PRESSURE, AND EU POLICY: CHALLENGES IN CROATIA’S MUNICIPAL WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Croatia’s waste management system faces compounding pressures from rapid tourism growth and EU circular economy mandates, exposing the inefficiencies of its fragmented municipal governance viii
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