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Les relations civilo-militaires en Croatie, 1990-2001 (Civil-Military Relations in Croatia, 1990-2001)

2002; RELX Group (Netherlands); Linguagem: Inglês

1556-5068

Renéo Lukić, Jean‐François Morel,

Military History and Strategy

Contrairement a la majorite des pays de l'Europe centrale et orientale qui ont connu une transition post-communiste pacifique, la Croatie a vecu la sienne en guerre. En effet, la guerre serbo-croate au printemps 1991 la forca a se doter rapidement d'une armee pour defendre son territoire. La Croatie n'etait a ce moment qu'une democratie emergente et, apres que son independance eut ete reconnue par la Communaute Europeenne le 15 janvier 1992, le controle de l'Armee croate (Hrvatska vojska, HV) echappa aux institutions parlementaires. La HV etait dominee par le parti du president Franjo Tudjman (le HDZ) qui, pour avoir mene la Croatie a l'independance, beneficiait d'une triple legitimite (politique, constitutionnelle et charismatique), semblable a celle de Tito sur l'Armee populaire yougoslave. Le regime civilo-militaire etabli en Croatie apres 1990 souffrait donc d'un deficit democratique indeniable. A la mort de Franjo Tudjman en decembre 1999, la nouvelle majorite, issue des elections de janvier et fevrier 2000 et menee par le president Stjepan Mesic, tenta d'etablir un veritable controle democratique des forces armees. Elle se heurta a l'opposition du ministere de la Defense et d'un certain nombre d'officiers toujours fideles au HDZ. Aujourd'hui, l'etablissement d'un regime civilo-militaire democratique en Croatie reste encore le but a atteindre. Cependant, la Croatie semble faire quelques progres en ce sens. En cherchant a adherer a certaines organisations internationales (OTAN), ou en etant contrainte de cooperer avec d'autres (Tribunal Penal International pour l'ex-Yougoslavie, TPIY), le pays doit maintenant interioriser les normes regissant le controle civil et democratique des forces armees. Sa participation au Partenariat pour la paix (PPP) et sa volonte d'adherer au plus tot au Membership Action Plan (MAP) de l'OTAN forcent la Croatie a progresser dans cette direction. In contrast to most of Eastern and Central European countries that underwent their post-communist transition peacefully, Croatia had to undergo its transition during wartime. The outbreak of the Serbo-Croatian war in Spring 1991 forced Croatia to build rapidly an army to protect its territory. However, at this time, Croatia was an emerging democracy and after the European Community recognised its independence on January 15, 1992, the parliamentary institutions were unable to exert their authority over the Croatian army (Hrvatska vojska, HV). The Croatian President, Franjo Tudjman, and the political party he presided, the HDZ, dominated the HV by way of political penetration. Tudjman, who led Croatia to independence, benefited from a triple legitimacy (political, constitutional and charismatic) that allowed him to exert his power over the HV, much the same as the legitimacy Josip Broz-Tito enjoyed over the Yugoslav National Army in Communist Yugoslavia. The result is that the civil-military regime in Croatia after 1990 suffered from a democratic deficit. After the death of President Franjo Tudjman in December 1999 and the change of majority in the January-February 2000 elections, the new Croatian leadership, particularly President Stjepan Mesic, tried to establish democratic control over the armed forces. However, this aim clashed with the opposition of the Ministry of Defense and of numerous officers still committed to the HDZ. For these reasons, a democratic civil-military regime in Croatia is not yet a reality. However, Croatia has made some progress toward the establishment of a democratic civil-military regime. By trying to join some international organizations (NATO), or by being compelled to cooperate with others (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY), Croatia is now in the process of interiorizing the norms concerning the civilian and democratic control of the armed forces upon which these organizations are based. Being a member of the Partnership for Peace (PfP), and wishing to join as soon as possible NATO's Membership Action Plan (MAP), Croatia is obliged to move in this direction.