A Critical Analysis of the Plan for Integration of Persons under International Protection in the Republic of Croatia

Abstract

In 2017, the Government of the Republic of Croatia published the "Action Plan for the Integration of Persons Granted International Protection for the Period from 2017 to 2019" in response to the increased number of requests for international protection (Government of the Republic of Croatia, 2017). Although Croatia does not have an immigration tradition, and thus no detailed strategy for the integration of new citizens, this term has become frequently used in public space and media. This paper focuses on the integration of persons under international protection in Croatian society. Therefore, it is important to begin by defining the term integration itself. There are different definitions of integration, depending on the area of analysis, so some authors like Carens (2013) separate the terms integration and inclusion. For example, Parekh (2000) defines integration as a process of inclusion in society, where both new citizens and the domicile population need to adapt, while Carens (2013) views inclusion as a process in which migrants and refugees retain their cultural roots while adaptation to the host country. Nevertheless, Carens notes that "full inclusion requires the mutual adjustment of both parties, citizens of immigrant origin and citizens who do not have an immigrant origin" (Carens, 2013: 14). It is also important to distinguish the term "migrant" from the term "refugee". According to Carens (2013), refugees are those who are forced to leave their countries for a variety of reasons, from political to environmental reasons. On the other hand, the term "migrants" is often used in the context of those who have independently decided to leave their country of origin in search of a better life. Thus, Carens associates this category with temporary workers (Carens, 2013: 10). This paper is closely related to refugees who have received international protection in Croatia. The main goal of this paper is to analyze the experience of the process of integration of persons under international protection into Croatian ...