Heritage, identity and ideological manipulation: The case of Croatia

Whilst the interpretation, commodification, marketing, and consumption of heritage has been the focus of considerable debate in Western societies, little attention has been paid to the ‘remaking’ of history in societies that have undergone radical political and cultural change in recent years. This paper uses Croatia in the former Yugoslavia as a case for analyzing the implications of manipulating history. It provides details of a qualitative study of consumer perceptions of heritage and history and examines responses to a ‘cleansed’ heritage. The study revealed five related themes; identity and otherness; rewriting history; power and control; language and perceptions of the past; and nostalgia. The paper concludes by considering the consequences of representing a mono-cultural heritage in a multi-ethnic society.