| A major distinction between Croatian and Slovenian politics is the foundations upon which their respective political elites based their programmes and how these programmes developed in response to internal and external challenges. In Croatia, the foundation was based on a historical tradition of the Croatian state. This informed a political approach that was more obstructionist and that, more often than in Slovenia, was used to justify zero sum games and revolutionary change with the maximal goal of independence. Slovenia lacked a state tradition and was cognizant of the pressures exerted by great powers, particularly on its northern and western borders. The Slovenian political elite focused on ensuring Slovenian linguistic rights and cultural distinctiveness with the maximal goal of autonomy achieved through a greater reliance on positive sum games---incremental change and co-operationist politics. Neither nation was "liberal," according to liberal democratic standards, prior to the 1990s. However, there are discernable historical patterns of politics that demonstrate greater and lesser amenability to the development of political liberalism.;The relationship between church and state is but one realm of policy making that can be used to illuminate patterns of post-communist political liberalization. Church-state relations were chosen for this case study because both Croatia and Slovenia were faced with the same issues, including concordat content and creation, property restitution, public funding of the Catholic Church, and the RCC's involvement in education. In addition, the same types of government, party, and Church actors are involved. |
