Process of local government fragmentation in Croatia: From a big-bang to a status quo

The paper explores and explains the fragmentation process in Croatian local government during the transition period from 1990 onwards. Special focus is given to the emergence of new municipalities (municipal splits/secessions) that occurred after the new two-tier local government system was established in 1993. Excessive fragmentation of territorial structure at the beginning of the 1990s was a systematic and centrally driven reform that was meant to break with the inherited local government model and break up its territorial structure as radically as possible. While the initial overhaul in 1993 was mostly the result of conscious policy implemented in a top-down manner, subsequent municipal splits were mostly the outcome of local initiatives and lobbying, and were predominantly shaped by local, primarily economic factors, whereas political and cultural factors were of secondary importance. The national institutional context, including criteria and procedural rules for splits, were quite liberal during this whole period, with a moderate tightening-up trajectory. The number of municipalities finally stabilised in 2006, since when there have been no more splits.