Pro-longed exile and potential integration processes in Croatia.

The aim of this paper is to assess initial contact, social distance and interethnic attitudes between refugee/displaced groups and Croatian host society in Dalmatia as a predictor of possible integration processes. In spite of many similarities between the analyzed groups (Bosnian refugees, displaced persons from Eastern Slavonia and Dalmatian population), sharing a period of common history and linguistic features that should facilitate integration, the results reveal complex and ambivalent attitudes of these groups, socially differentiated by age, gender and education. The study indicates the need for major efforts in stimulating integration and enabling the development of intercultural identities as a prerequisite for social stability.