Croatian Cultural Renaissance: From the Margins to the Crossroad of Europe (Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European Politics)

Croatia is a magnificent land full of surprises. Visitors are amazed to discover a country with spectacular natural wonders, a great culinary tradition, excellent wine, architecture, a beautiful language, and a vibrant national culture. While it is a small country when measured in square miles, market size, or military power, it has a rich culture that has profoundly impacted the world. The contributors to Croatian Cultural Renaissance: From the Margins to the Crossroad of Europe were the protagonists who survived the communist period and then lived through the fraught period of the Croatian War of Independence in the 1990s; they worked to understand, build, and preserve their cultural identity and freedom as Croatian people. They are diplomats, government officials, artists, and academics who are recognized within Croatia for their intellectual prowess and for their vital and noteworthy contributions to their country. While the chapters explore different areas of Croatia’s national culture, they are united in showing how the national identity and ethos have deep roots and provide insight in what it means to be Croatian today. Introduction: Croatia’s Culture (G. Doug Davis) Chapter 1: A Meeting Point and an Intersection – Croatian Identity and Culture (Božo Skoko) Chapter 2: Croatian Opera Diplomacy (Miomir Žužul, Ivana Žužul, Iva Hraste-Sočo) Chapter 3: Croatian Culture as a Means of Political Struggle in Socialist Yugoslavia (From Agitprop to Maspok) (Ivica Lučić) Chapter 4: From the Triune Kingdom to the Nation: The Role of the Croatian Coat of Arms in the Process of Croatian National Integration (Mario Jareb, Hrvoje Kekez) Chapter 5: Croatian Art – Space and Spirit (Vladimir Peter Goss) Chapter 6: Croatian Thinkers in the Context of European Culture (Jure Zovko & Ivana Nikolić) Chapter 7: Croatian Conservative Mind: Critiques Of The French And Russian Revolution During The Modern Period (Stipe Kljaić) Chapter 8: Sociological Factors in the Development of the Atmosphere of Croatian Theater (Miriam Mary Brgles) Chapter 9: Dubrovnik’s Place in Croatian Culture (Robin Harris) Chapter 10: The Reflection of The Political Ideas of the Croatian Political Diaspora on the Contemporary Croatian State (Ivan Tepeš) Chapter 11: Three States in One: Explaining Croat Minority Nationalism in Postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ugo Vlaisavljević) Chapter 12: Forging a Shared Identity: Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia (Ivan Pepić) Chapter 13: A Portrait for a Croatian Euro Coin: Marija Jurić Zagorka (1873-1957) (Andrea Feldman) Chapter 14: Archbishop Dr. Alojzije Viktor Stepinac of Zagreb: In Memory, History and the Politics of Survival (Esther Gitman)