Relational gender relations in Croatia: modernization and development perspectives

The aim of the project is to investigate the gender identities of men and women in post-transitional Croatia from the point of view of recent theories of modernization and development. The proposed topic will be investigated with a methodologically innovative approach, which is based on mixed methods and considers the identities of men and women in a relational context. Attitudes, values and practices of men and women in Croatia will be investigated by surveying a nationally representative sample and using 100 semi-structured interviews conducted in the household and conceptualized as focused (micro-)ethnography. Collected quantitative data will be subjected to factor and cluster analyses, as well as multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and geometric data analysis (GDA). The collected qualitative data will serve as a basis for the interpretation of the social construction of gender within a specific environment (household) and in a wider institutional environment related to the daily practices of men and women. The project is based on the assumption that the modernization and development capabilities of an individual society can be assessed by analyzing gender relations. In the light of the assumptions of recent theories of modernization, gender roles and gender relations can be seen not only as indicators of the classical dichotomy of tradition and modernity, but also of individualization, reflexivity and “self-entrepreneurship”, connected to the context of the “risk society” in the “second modernity”. . In this sense, their analysis enables a richer and more precise understanding of the development capabilities of Croatian society than approaches based on “human capital”, especially considering that the research will include topics related to social stratification and regional differentiation. The outcomes of the project will be relevant in the context of public policies and are expected to significantly contribute to the socio-economic development of Croatian society. Project team members: Inga Tomić-Koludrović, Jadranka Rebeka Anić, Lynette Šikić Mićanović, Augustin Derado, Mirko Petrić, Ivan Puzek, Željka Zdravković, Sara Ursić and Filip Užarević