Ana Marušić

The Croatian Medical Journal: Success and Consequences

In the European context, Croatia fits the definition of a semiperipheral country very well. It is located between the centre and periphery both geographically and economically, developing at a slower rate than the centre (but faster than the periphery), with fewer material resources, and characterized by a tradition of corruption, including in the academic community. Relative to the centre, research productivity is low and resistance to innovation high; there is also inefficiency, a lack of organization, limited access to equipment and resources, and an inability to attract or fix top-ranking researchers (Marusic: and Marusic: 1999). Most scientific production is restricted to the university environment, and university departments are run as ‘minifiefdoms’ (Canagarajah 2002, p. 195) rather than meritocracies; hence, it is generally considered to be more important to cultivate influential connections than an impressive curriculum. As for Croatian science journals, these have been mostly ‘domestic’ in language, scope and management, and publications are either not peer-reviewed or the process is conducted in a less than rigorous manner (Marusic: and Marusic: 1999).