IRMO Brief 11/2018, "Genesis of a Transatlantic Profle: The Case of Croatia"

Introduction

The political transformation in the post-communist Croatia was driven by the
aspiration to become a constituent of 'the Western club', besides the idea of regaining the sovereignty and statehood. The EU was perceived as an attractive model of political stability and economic wellbeing, where membership is not easy to achieve but worth struggling for. On the other hand, NATO was regarded as an optimal framework for the functional conceptualisation of the national security in the long run. Basically, it was quite clear that the country with rather limited capacities would be incapable to individually guarantee its national security in a highly volatile and complex international environment. These two fundamental foreign-policy orientations became 'two sides of the same coin' in Croatia's endeavour to become a full-fledged member of the transatlantic community and institutions.

"The political transformation in the post-communist Croatia was driven by the aspiration to become a constituent of 'the Western club', besides the idea
of regaining the sovereignty and statehood."

Hence, from the very beginning, the traditional division between 'the Atlanticist' and 'the Europeanists' was not relevant in the security discourse of the country.

‍