Restoration of Capitalism and Class Re-composition: The Cases of Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina
Channel: Inštitut za delavske študije
Date: 2014-05-06

Panel discussion IV: Restoration of Capitalism and Class Re-composition: The Cases of Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina

Domagoj Mihaljević: Socio-economic Structural Transformation 
and Class Recomposition in Croatia

Goran Marković: The Interrelation between The Bosnian Type of Transition to Capitalism and the Political Potency of the Working Class
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The disintegration of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia resulted in its constituent members splitting apart and individually entering the welcoming markets. The cases of Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina, despite the countries having taken different paths, are nevertheless similar: they all experienced the changes in the ownership of the means of production, the weakening and fragmentation of the former 'ruling' class (that is, the working class), the formation of the national and comprador bourgeoisie, and the ideological shift from brotherhood and unity to individualisation and survival of the fittest. Moreover, these countries are all on the same track to a 'successful' integration in the European markets.

The purpose of this panel is to investigate the different circumstances surrounding the countries on their way to fully restored capitalism. We will address the changes in the economic, political and social structures, see how they affected the class re-composition, and look for answers to several crucial questions regarding the position of the working class in the class struggle today, such as: Which classes exist on the periphery? How does the comprador bourgeoisie ensure its reproduction and where are its weak points? Which elements constitute the working class today? How can the working class avoid further fragmentation? How to form new or penetrate the existing institutions in order to advance working-class consolidation?

By trying to answer these questions and exchanging the experiences from these countries, a related aim of the panel is also to equip the existing anti-capitalist struggles on the periphery with invaluable theory.