Forced, Impelled and Organised Migration in the Ethno-Demographic Shaping of Croatia: The Example of Slavonia

• Published in: Migracijske i etničke teme
• Main Authors: Mario Bara, Ivan Lajić
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies 2009-12-01
• Subjects: Slavonia; migrations; ethnic structure; twentieth century
• Online Access: http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/74634

Based on relevant statistical data and literature, this work analyses the demographical development of Slavonia – especially its ethnic structure - over a period of one century. It revises influences (direct and indirect) that socio-political changes have had on mechanical movements of the population. The foci of attention are the First and Second World Wars, political and territorial changes, agricultural colonization (private and state), economic migrations during the post-war period, de-ruralization and urbanization, rural-urban migrations and the Homeland War. The authors devote a special chapter to the influence of the Homeland War on the development of total population, interrelations between specific ethnic groups and the disruption of population age structure in Slavonia. The analysis has shown that the disrupted age structure – partly as a consequence of previous negative movement trends and major mechanical outflow of the population during the 1990s, as well as significant war mortality among younger reproduction-capable groups – will have an affect on future demographic ageing of the observed populations. This leads the authors to the conclusion that the politically induced migrations, and in part assimilation, have had a dominant role in the ethnic homogenization of Slavonia and other parts of Croatia.