Did the 2015 and 2016 Parliamentary Elections Change the Political Cleavages in Croatia?

Populist attitudes in Croatia: first analysis with notes on conceptualisation and measurement

“…Considering the substantial impact of the historical -identarian cleavage on sociocultural values of citizens in Croatia, it seems plausible to test its eventual association with populism on an individual level. On that note, previous studies show that voters of Most and Živi zid are less associated with historical events and personalities that otherwise serve as the backbone of the fundamental identarian cleavage (Henjak 2018), implying that these people are less associated with components of established left and right political identities in Croatia. This was also supported by the finding that the voters of these parties are substantially closer to centrist ideological self -positioning (Henjak 2018).…”

“…On that note, previous studies show that voters of Most and Živi zid are less associated with historical events and personalities that otherwise serve as the backbone of the fundamental identarian cleavage (Henjak 2018), implying that these people are less associated with components of established left and right political identities in Croatia. This was also supported by the finding that the voters of these parties are substantially closer to centrist ideological self -positioning (Henjak 2018). So, in Croatian context, it seems reasonable to assume that populism is not the stance of ideological extremists, as is usually recorded in comparative literature on populism.…”

“…In more detail, the greatest success was achieved by MOST (The Bridge) and Živi zid (The Human Shield), which most studies categorise as populist parties (Meijers -Zaslove 2021;Zulianello 2020;Grbeša -Šalaj 2018). Given that Živi zid, among other things, advocated redistribution and protectionist policies and had an anti -capitalistic character (s. Henjak, 2018), one may argue that populism in Croatia can be a sign of voter mobilisation on a formerly absent socioeconomic basis, i.e., it might be an expression of economic grievances. Still, studies have not confirmed that socioeconomic determinants have a consistent influence on support for these parties (Henjak 2018).…”

“…Given that Živi zid, among other things, advocated redistribution and protectionist policies and had an anti -capitalistic character (s. Henjak, 2018), one may argue that populism in Croatia can be a sign of voter mobilisation on a formerly absent socioeconomic basis, i.e., it might be an expression of economic grievances. Still, studies have not confirmed that socioeconomic determinants have a consistent influence on support for these parties (Henjak 2018). Or, to put it differently, although the new parties clearly positioned themselves as critics of the existing political and economic model, their voters did not have the profile of globalisation losers.…”

The vertical and horizontal dimensions in the social construction of leadership: A case study on the social media followers of the Croatian politicians Zoran Milanović and Miro Bulj

“…Two political parties, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), have been the two main parties since the country gained its independence. Nevertheless, this duopoly has been disrupted in 2015 and 2016 when the anti-establishment parties Most (The Bridge) and Živi zid (The Human Shield) appeared (Henjak, 2018). Those elections are considered a turning point that opened up space for more anti-establishment candidates and populists (Henjak, 2019).…”