Europeans from the Start? Slovenia and Croatia Between State-building, National Identity and the European Union

Abstract

The article draws on Hansen and Wæver’s three-layered framework of state-nation-Europe, and applies it to Slovenia and Croatia. The aim is to examine how nation- and state-building affect these countries’ Europeanization before and after EU accession. The novelty of the contribution is the specific attention paid to the post-Yugoslav space as a reference for nation- and state-building. Our findings underline that the Slovenian and Croatian state-nation concept and its relationship to Europe are not per se fixed frames, but are fluid attitudes, prone to change and reaffirmation. We also establish a comparative difference between domestic and relational Europe layer for the two states.