RHS Symposium, University of Leicester, 27 March 2013

Croatia’s entry into the EU on July 1, 2013 makes it timely to consider the place that Croatia has occupied in the history of Europe, and the associated question of how Croatian national identity has been shaped by the country’s crossroads location between Italy, central Europe and the Balkans. This symposium will aim to address these issues across a suitably broad historical spectrum. It will focus on a number of particularly stressful periods in Croatia’s historical development, when the operation of external pressures from powerful neighbours produced a response that encapsulated the views of key Croatian groups about the character and future of their compatriots and country. Differences of religion, ethnicity and political allegiance, their varied expressions and the relationship between them will be central themes of the meeting.

The symposium was held in association with the London embassy of the Republic of Croatia.