ABSTRACT
It is an inescapable fact the first multi-party Croatian elections during the postwar period centered around the issues of Croat identity, the position of the Croatian republic within the Yugoslav federation, and inter-ethnic relations within the Croatian republic. This occurred despite the enormous problems associated with the deteriorating socio-economic situation and political process, the rapid deterioration of the economy, and the breakup of the one-party political system. When we set aside questions about the origins of or justification for the prevailing inter-ethnic hostility, what remains is the fact that ethnic feeling, the ethnic identification of individuals, and perceptions of threats to one's ethnicity very significantly defined the electoral performance of the political parties and became the dominant factor in political life.
