Historical Dictionary of Croatia

Robert Stallaerts (1947-2009) was a member of the Hogeschool at Ghent and the author of Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Belgium: Second Edition (Scarecrow, 2006).

This new edition contains about 650 entries that cover ethnic groups; historic events; locations (cities, islands, regions, towns); key documents; organizations; and Croats from a range of fields (activists, artists, government officials, journalists, military persons, philosophers) and time periods. Especially noteworthy are the large number of general topics. Examples include Agriculture and fishing, Environment, Foreign policy, Health, Language, and Religion. Author Stallaerts also provides entries that describe Croatia's relations with other countries, for example, United States (relations with). Information appears fairly current. For example, in the entry Economy, Stallaerts describes the effects of the recent financial crisis on the Croatian economy and the Croatian government's efforts to confront the recession. Some entries are very short (e.g., two sentences on the river Cetina). The longest entries are about 8 pages (e.g., Political parties, Yugoslavia). Besides see and see also references, bold type within text indicates separate entries. The length of the concluding bibliography has increased from 80 pages in the previous edition to 90 pages here. Especially useful for novices, a 16-page bibliographic introduction highlights key information s