Abstract
The chapter aims to explore four important networks relevant to local state–society relations in Croatia. First, we analyse youth councils since their role is to advise and influence local representative bodies on issues of interest to the young, to empower and enhance the participation of young people in local affairs and decisions. We continue with school boards and parents’ councils as important forms of representing and promoting parents’ interests in managing schools that fall under the local scope of affairs. Then we analyse local development agencies established by local governments to support small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs and to promote the overall economic, social, and cultural development. Finally, we examine local actions groups whose main task is to develop and implement local development strategies. The autonomy, the coherence, and the relevance of each of these networks are examined.
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Notes
- 1.
The number of deconcentrated branch offices of central state administrative bodies increased from 1279 in June 2015 to 1464 in May 2018. The robust sector of centrally established public agencies must be added, with several additional networks of field offices (e.g. the Croatian Forests has 175, the Financial Agency 188, the Croatian Pension Insurance Fund 111 of them, etc.).
- 2.
See at: http://www.spi.hr/financijska-analiza-poslovanja-proracuna-zupanija-iz-financijskih-izvjestaja-za-2016-i-2017-godinu (accessed 2 May 2019).
- 3.
The first Law on Youth Councils was enacted in 2007.
- 4.
In case informal groups of young people propose members for the youth council, they have to be supported by a certain number of youth signatures ranging from 10 to 50, depending on the size of the local unit (art. 9 the Law on Youth Councils).
- 5.
The total number of youth councils was 106, which decreases the average number of meetings per youth council to 3.2.
- 6.
The same level of participation is established also when Hart’s ladder of young people’s participation is taken into consideration. Namely, this ladder has eight degrees, ranging from level 1 (young people are manipulated) to level 8 (young people share decision-making with adults), and Croatian youth councils are put at level five—young people are consulted and informed (Bužinkić 2011: 18–20).
- 7.
- 8.
Zakon o odgoju i obrazovanju u osnovnoj i srednjoj školi (Official Gazette 87/2008, 86/2009, 92/2010, 105/2010, 90/2011, 5/2012, 16/2012, 86/2012, 126/2012, 94/2013, 152/2014, 07/2017, 68/2018).
- 9.
The Ministry of Regional Development and the EU Funds’ register is available at: https://razvoj.gov.hr/pristup-informacijama/upisnik-regionalnih-koordinatora-i-lokalnih-razvojnih-agencija/4007. The Ministry of the Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Crafts’ register is available at: http://reg.mingo.hr/pi/public/# (accessed 12 September 2019).
- 10.
LDAs are free to register in one of two or in both of these two registers, depending on their mission agreed with the respective local governments. They can even decide not to register, but in that case, they cannot apply for the support from state and other public budgets. For more details, see Suknaić (2018).
- 11.
Mayors are free to appoint the members of the managerial boards regardless of their political affiliation, professional, or other criteria. There is no data or published research about the structure of LDAs’ managerial boards.
- 12.
LAGs include more than 500 local governments. In addition, there are 14 FLAGs (Fisheries LAGs) that include 94 local governments in the Croatian coastal zone.
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Koprić, I., Jurlina Alibegović, D., Manojlović Toman, R., Čepo, D., Slijepčević, S. (2021). Local State–Society Relations in Croatia. In: Teles, F., Gendźwiłł, A., Stănuș, C., Heinelt, H. (eds) Close Ties in European Local Governance. Palgrave Studies in Sub-National Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44794-6_6
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