Timeline: 1996-2002
Head of the Project: Ružica ČIČAK-CHAND
Researchers: Jadranka ČAČIĆ-KUMPES, Emil HERŠAK, Josip KUMPES, Silva MEŽNARIĆ
Junior Researchers: Snježana GREGUROVIĆ, Sanja LAZANIN
The main goal is to establish the stages of development of ethnicity in Croatia through the hypothesis that the peculiarities of Croatian ethnic development can be inserted into (comparative) typology of ethnicity. The research is conceived in three parts: 1 (a) to determine main historic stages in the development of Croatian ethnicity, (b) to examine (on a Croatian example) the influence of two special forms of mediation in transmitting ethnic conscience: the example of education system and religion; 2 comparative part in which the conception on Croatian ethnic development will be used in order to determine the “type” it basically belongs to and how this type relates to other possible or already determined types; 3 to make a script of the position of Croatian ethnie (especially in European context) based on the obtained typology and cognitions on ethnicity. This research is the first systematic and synthetic endeavour of such kind in Croatia and it should result in a systematic survey of the development of Croatian ethnie and
fundamental typology of ethnicity.
The research initiated a first ever investigation on certain concepts and phenomena of ethnicity in Croatia as an introduction into the systematization and critical re-examination of ethnicity phenomena as well as the analysis of concrete ethnic and national problems in the Croatian and the broader, primarily European context. The three scientific conferences (the first and the second round table Ethnic Development of the European Nations: Croatia – Europe in June 1997 and in March 1999 and the round table Ethnicity and Stability of Europe in the 21st Century: Position and Role of Croatia in November 2000), organized by the members of the research team, resulted in the publication of four books (Etničnost, nacija, identitet: Hrvatska i Europa edited by Ružica Čičak-Chand and Josip Kumpes, 1998; Kultura, etničnost, identitet, edited by Jadranka Čačić-Kumpes, 1999; Etničnost i povijest, edited by Emil Heršak, 1999; Etničnost i stabilnost Europe u 21. stoljeću: položaj i uloga Hrvatske, edited by Silva Mežnarić, 2002). Another important accomplishment related to ethnicity problems is the Leksikon migracijskoga i etničkoga nazivlja (editor-in-chief Emil Hršak), prepared, among others, by several members of the research team. In addition, 68 scientific and expert papers were published within the project and the researchers participated with their contributions in international and domestic scientific conferences. These papers covered most of the topics suggested in the project draft, such as typology of ethnicity, the relation between ethnicity and religion, the relationship between ethnicity, cultural pluralism and education, the relation between ethnicity and history, the regulation of ethnicity in Europe, etc. It was confirmed that the characteristics of the Croatian ethnic development could be included in the comparative typology of ethnicity. Several thematic bibliographies were compiled and the work on a database on ethnic groups was initiated, both providing the basis for further research.