3. Civil Society Mobilisation in Croatia

This chapter examines rule of law-related civil society mobilisation in Croatia during the final years of the country’s membership talks and in the early post-accession period. It points to a tangible strengthening of Croatian civil society actors during the final stages of the accession process, which was favoured by their collective mobilisation and direct engagement with EU actors. Empowerment, however, remained tightly circumscribed due to civil society actors’ late mobilisation and their overreliance upon the EU as an ally, a role the EU ceased to play upon Croatia’s accession. The chapter highlights the importance of domestic agency and the role of deliberate and creative usages of the EU accession framework. At the same time, it points to the limitations of mobilisation strategies that, by necessity as much as by choice, privilege EU leverage over a broader engagement at the domestic level.