About the Project
Proceeding from a hypothesis that the foundations of Croatia as a modern state were laid in the 18th and “long” 19th centuries, the objective of the Project is to research into the transfer and reception of various ideas and the influence of ideas of European provenance in Croatia’s political and cultural life in the stated period, which contributed to the shaping of Croatia’s European identity and its transformation into a modern state. The research will proceed from the peripheral location of Croatian Lands, which has been for centuries at the junction of ways and at the boundary of different civilisations – Mediterranean, West European, and Euro-Asian. Moreover, it will analyse in what way this location influenced the transfer of ideas from European political and cultural circles, primarily West European and Central European, and the acceptance or non-acceptance of European ideas in Croatia’s political and cultural life. The researches will primarily focus on the analysis of the correlation between new European ideas and traditional Croatian political and cultural patterns, the influence of modernisation processes ‘from above’ on the transformation of the traditional patterns in politics, culture and education in Croatia, on the role of Croatia’s educated elite in accepting, modifying or rejecting the influence of European ideas, and reasons and forms of resistance to the implementation of modernisation ideas.
As part of the project, the influence of European ideas will be questioned at the level of political institutions, primarily the development of parliamentary system and parliamentary culture, as well as on laying foundations for modern public administration and public health care system. Since education of new generations is a foundation for building modern institutions, the research will comprise the influence of European ideas on modernisation of education and on shaping Croatia’s education science. Moreover, the study will focus on the correlation between some European ideas and concepts and their Croatian counterparts, especially reflections of the Enlightenment, cameralism, liberalism, different modernisation theories, the idea of the state based on the rule of law, protection of civil and political rights and similar in the activities of some distinguished individuals who left a significant imprint on different areas of public political and cultural life. The object of the analysis will also be links between some distinguished European intellectuals and some reputable Croatian political and cultural figures.
Applying the research model centre-periphery, the research results will be interpreted and contextualised at two levels, as part of the political and cultural framework of the Habsburg Monarchy and in a broader European context. The research will be based on the comparative method and case studies, which will be interpreted applying the theory of cultural transfer, the concept of cultural diffusion and other translation theories. The project will result in a sizeable number of scientific papers in internationally indexed journals, and in conference proceedings/edited books, two e-books and a digital repository publicly accessible at the project’s web-site, as well as in organisation of several scientific colloquia with the participation of relevant foreign and domestic experts.