NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC PROJECTS

Project title: “Solidarity Economy in Croatia: Anthropological Perspective (SOLIDARan)”

Project leader: Olga Orlić, PhD

Institution implementing the project: Institute for Anthropological Research

Project implementation period: 1^st February 2020 – 31^st January 2024

Institution financing the project: Croatian Science Foundation

Collaborators:

Olga Orlić,PhD scientific associate, Institute for Anthropological Research

Anja Iveković Martinis,PhD postdoctoral student, Institute for Anthropological Research

 Duga Mavrinac, assistant

Orlanda Obad,PhD scientific associate, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research

Nataša Bokan, Assistant professor, Department of Agrarian Economics and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb

Aleksandar Lukić, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb

Valentina Valjak, Master of Geography, PhD student, Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb

Jelena Seferović,PhD exper advisor, Institute for Anthropological Research

Domagoj Račić,MSc,  Mreža znanja d.o.o. 

Postdoctoral Student

Assistant

Short description of the project:

Interest (in practice and in academia) in the solidarity economy has increased significantly since the economic crisis of 2008, when many people personally experienced the inequalities and injustices created by the modern capitalist system. Although some such practices have been known since before (Laville 2009), after the crisis in the world there is a proliferation of “bottom-up” initiatives, social innovations, based on the principles of solidarity economy (Kawano et al 2009; Simonič 2019), and thus in Croatia (Sarjanović 2014, Orlić 2014, Gulin Zrnić and Rubić 2015). Solidarity economy initiatives are often covered by the somewhat broader concept of social and solidarity economy (SSE) (Laville 2010; Dash 2014; Šimleša et al. 2016), which is often perceived as a kind of “third sector” of the economy, aimed at more sustainable development in general and the correction of negative capitalist practices (Evers and Laville 2004, Laville 2010, Fonteneau et al, 2011). It also does not aim to be a mere corrective to the capitalist order but to create an alternative to the existing capitalist system. , production and consumption. ”(Bauhard 2014) This includes practices such as community housing, shared kitchens, knowledge and program sharing, workers’ cooperatives, urban gardening, community-assisted agriculture, ecovillages, ethical financing, alternative currencies, LETSystem. Local Exchange Trading Systems, ie local trade and exchange systems (according to Puđak 2010: 47)), fair-trade initiatives and many others.

The proposed research, by including an anthropological perspective and a diachronic view of the notion of solidarity in the pre-socialist, socialist and post-socialist period, aims to contribute to understanding the practices of solidarity economy in the specific Croatian transition context. The main research questions focused on questioning different and often mutually exclusive conceptualizations of solidarity in modern times, new forms of communities of practice and new ways of imagining communities and the perception of solidarity economy as a way of shaping the utopia of reconstruction. The research focus formulated in this way aims to contribute to the understanding of process and multiple group and intergroup dynamics of solidarity economy actors and to the theoretical consideration of important anthropological notions of solidarity, reciprocity and communities. Research on solidarity economy is important not only in the Croatian context but also on a global level, especially because this topic is an important combination of a complex area of ​​scientific research (attempts to transform the dominant economic system through various social innovations) with social and economic impact. This project seeks to contribute to the process of theoretical reflection on the practices of solidarity economy, applying an anthropological approach aimed at understanding the meaning of these practices for communities (Grasseni 2013; Rakopoulos 2014; Rakopoulos 2016) given their transformative potential for the wider society (Laville 2010). The research intends to include the diachronic aspect of solidarity practices in the Croatian context, but also the analysis of contemporary phenomena. One of the planned results of the research includes the development of a model for the implementation of certain elements of the solidarity economy in public policies, and the project intends to achieve a certain impact on the development of the economy and society.