Explaining the Regeneration of the Croatian Democratic Union in Post-Presidential Authoritarian Croatia: Elites, Legacies and Party Organization

The survival and regeneration of the Croatian Democratic Union in the aftermath of the death of the party's authoritarian leader, Croatian president Franjo Tudjman, demonstrates the crucial role of elites and party organization in determining the trajectory of post-communist party system development in Croatia. The question this article addresses is what explains the Croatian Democratic Union's rapid adaptation from a leader-focused party of power dependent upon the authoritarian leadership of president Tudjman into an electorally successful parliamentary political party? It will be demonstrated that rather than focusing on party responsiveness to societal cleavages, a modified elite model of party system development best illustrates the Croatian Democratic Union's persistence and electoral survival in post-Tudjman Croatia.