Contested Places and Ambivalent Identities – Social Change and Development in UNESCO Enlisted Dubrovnik

Abstract

2016 marks the 25th anniversary for Croatia’s independence. As young nation, Croatia has undergone considerable, in part traumatic transformations, which have had significant socio-political, economic and cultural ramifications. The article aims to provide an understanding of the possibilities and impediments of urban and rural sustainable development in Croatia. It will explore the ways contestations over the turbulent past, the composite present and the uncertainty of future socio-economic and cultural developments repeatedly cast shadows in negotiations over development projects. With Croatia’s inclusion in the EU in 2013, Croatia provides a constructive test-case in analysing the challenges and potentials for steering towards sustainable development in a region with a recent history of conflict and instability. The many-sided consequences of the predominant tourism-based developments in post-war Dubrovnik are furthermore of global resonance as many of UNESCO’s world heritage sites increasingly share new urban, environmental and infrastructural challenges relating to tourism.