Some Notes on Croatia and Dubrovnik

On the long bus ride to Dubrovnik I had time to make a couple of observation about the current state of Croatia. For one, I am impressed with the infrastructural development going on here. Once again, I am inclined from my experience to compare this case with that of Ukraine. Both in Croatia and last summer in Ukraine I have seen a lot of construction going on. In Ukraine the construction is only relevant to the wealthiest consumers and often at the expense of the lower economic strata; public parks have been razed to put up luxury apartments. I also received the impression that all the building was slow, inefficient, and hopelessly corrupt, true to its communist lineage. In Croatia however, the majority of the construction I have seen has been in middle class locations. There is also a higher attention to public infrastructure; the Zagreb neighborhood in which we were staying was receiving new sidewalks while we were there. They were installed with shocking speed. Crews were working from 6 AM until 7 or 8 at night and making progress that would put most American crews to shame.

Another important area of progress is obvious in Croatia’s law enforcement. Unlike the scowling ex-Red Army extortionist that typifies the Ukrainian law enforcement official, Croatian police are generally young, smiling, professionally dressed, and progressively courteous. Unlike their Ukrainian counterparts, you don’t have to avoid making eye contact with them. In Ukraine, if I was the victim of some crime, I would never consider going to the local police station – first stop, American Embassy. But here the rule of law, though not developed to Western standards, seems trustworthy. In my interview the other day I learned that Croatia has no division of its courts and there are currently 2.21 million unresolved cases, so there is certainly room for improvement. At least there is a place to start, further east, in places like Ukraine, they have much more dire need than judicial reform.

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is a medieval castle version of Venice. Thought Dubrovnik cannot compete with Venice on the playing field of culture, it is founded on some aesthetic qualities which Venice lacks. A 2,000 ft mountain curls dramatically down to the city’s back gate, while the city wall itself is built around a steep hill that slumps into the Adriatic. The effect this has, aside from stair climbing exhaustion, is a series of vistas that Venice is poorly geographically endowed to match. Unlike Venice, Dubrovnik is monotone; the entire city remains true to its bleached stone block foundation. This would look bland if it were not encased by the greens of surrounding mountains and the deep clear blues of the Adriatic.

Dubrovnik was once a very powerful force in history. It was known worldwide as the gateway port to the East, where goods could be shipped over land to Constantinople. Dubrovnik, unlike the rest of the Dalmatian Coast, never succumbed to the Venetian expansion. Through shrewd diplomacy, it also (and improbably) held both the Hungarians and Ottomans at bay. Staunchly Catholic, Dubrovnik held key alliances with Spain which sustained it in many dark hours of history.

Given Dubrovnik’s history of independence and physical isolation from the rest of Croatia, I was surprised at the level of Croat nationalism on display; Croat flags are on most buildings, t-shirts, hats, cars, etc.,. However, Dubrovnik has been the victim of fairly recent trauma which is responsible for these visible sentiments. In the 1990’s conflict, Dubrovnik was shelled by Serbian and Montenegrin artillery and the city was blockaded for a number of months. As a result, roughly 100 residents lost their lives. Certain portions of the city have not been reconstructed, I assume intentionally, as a living reminder of Serbian aggression. In light of these facts, I think the level of Croatian nationalism on display is really just an expression of anti-Serb and Montenegrin sentiment, but they don’t really make a flag for that.

My best description of Dubrovnik today is a Greek version of Venice. I say Greek because that was the ethnicity of the original settlers. Despite the recent the superficial Croat nationalism, Greek faces and mannerisms shine through. It has been a nice place to relax and regroup before heading into Bosnia.