Identity and the Divergence of Discourses in Croatia and Europe. (p229-240)

Summary: This paper explores the proposition that public discourse about the European Union in Croatia is not European, but national. The ‘nationalness’ of this discourse about Europe leads to divergent constructions of Croatian and European identity, and this, in turn, makes inclusion in the EU’s distributive mechanisms more difficult. The first part of the paper highlights the two discourses that exist in Europe – European and national. The second part describes how Croatian and European public discourse about the European Union diverge, and what the consequences of this divergence are. In the third part, reasons contributing to this divergence are offered, and the dangers of such a development for Croatia’s European future are indicated.