(RE)DEFINING CROATIAN STRATEGIC INSTRUMENTS: LEGAL CHALLENGES OF GEOPOLITICAL REALITIES

Abstract

We are currently witnessing a disrupted security architecture on both global and European scales. The annexation of Crimea and the subsequent war in Ukraine have entirely shifted the paradigm regarding the significance of security, sovereignty, and neutrality—whether based on international law, alliances, or trust as a primary factor in the geopolitical relations of political and military allies. This conflict has precipitated a loss of confidence in the efficacy of international law and the institutions tasked with conflict prevention and peacebuilding. It can be argued that this marked the beginning of an erosion of the international legal order established from the post-World War II era until 2022. Such geopolitical and international legal realities, coupled with the persistent political and security instability of the Western Balkans and the publicly disclosed National Security Strategy of the United States, are poised to forge new geopolitical dynamics between European Union Member States, NATO allies, and the U.S. In this rapidly evolving landscape, where historical shifts occur within days or weeks, a sense of confusion, mistrust, and fragmentation may arise among erstwhile allies. Accordingly, in light of these geopolitical and security challenges facing both the European Union and the Republic of Croatia, the authors of this study analyze existing Croatian strategic instruments concerning foreign policy and security operations (de lege lata). The research aims to address the scientific inquiry of whether circumstances now necessitate a (re)definition of these acts. Such a redefinition would encompass Croatia’s role in developing the EU’s strategic autonomy and the (re)specification of its own political and security objectives through legislation and strategies (de lege ferenda). These processes of legislative activism and the normative systematization of national security, defense, and state sovereignty represent more than a mere legal challenge; they encompass broader ideological and political issues that foster social polarization within both the EU and Croatia, regardless of the perceived urgency of such measures. Consequently, through an analysis of strategic documents and a structured overview of geopolitical threats and their corresponding normative responses, this research illustrates the factual reality of the inextricable link between security policies and legal regulation as a reflection of the democratic values and the rule of law upon which 21st-century states should be founded.