Factors influencing citizen participation in European citizen initiatives: case of Croatia

This article seeks to explore the factors influencing low participation of Croatian citizens in European citizen initiatives (ECI). Since the entry of Croatia to the EU, a neglectable number of Croatian citizens have taken part in around eighty ECI launched during the period of nine years. Despite a growing scholarly interest in the ECI, only a small number of studies have been dealing with factors shaping the intention of citizens to use the ECI and sources of the reluctance to this long-awaited instrument of strengthening participatory democracy in the EU. Based on the online survey conducted among students of political science, journalism and law – (as young and highly educated persons which are more exposed to information about the EU and usual suspects to hear about the ECI), but also taking into account the preliminary findings of the focus groups with Croatian students organized within the framework of the DebateEU project Jean Monnet Project, the article discusses to what extent the politicization of EU, value-based assessments and personal attitudes of citizens about the EU affect their motivation to engage in EU affairs.