Predavanje – Dalibor Čepulo “The Croatian-Hungarian Settlement of 1868: A Hybrid Framework and Modern Governance”
Public lecture held by Prof. Dr. Dalibor Čepulo (Professor Emeritus at the University of Zagreb) on the occasion of his inauguration as honorary professor of ELTE University.
7 May 2026, 16.00, at ELTE Faculty of Law, Faculty Council Room (1053 Budapest, Egyetem tér 1-3.)
The Croatian–Hungarian Settlement of 1868 established the legal framework demarcating Croatian autonomy from joint affairs under central government control. This lecture offers a critical re-evaluation of the Settlement, arguing that its inherent hybridity—a synthesis of pre-modern constitutionalism and modern governance—created a doctrinal impasse that positivistic scholarship has failed to resolve. The analysis explores how this 19th-century interpretative paradigm persists through the unresolved debate over whether Croatia-Slavonia was a ‘state’ or a ‘province’. Such an academic status quo suggests that a shift toward a broader doctrinal perspective is essential for a comprehensive analysis of the era’s institutions. Consequently, the lecture argues that Croatian autonomy should be interpreted as a ‘hybrid zone’ rather than through a strictly positivistic lens. It further demonstrates how the Settlement, despite its constraints, provided the formal institutional space necessary for the formation of modern Croatian institutions. By placing Croatia in a comparative context with autonomous Finland and Iceland, this lecture elaborates a distinct ‘autonomous path’ of state-building within the broader European experience. Ultimately, this critical case study helps to understand similar processes shaping governance and sovereignty in a contemporary context.
Please register for the event here (email).
The lecture will be held in English.