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Vedran Đulabić
Episode · #336

EKUMENA I ETIKA U POSLOVANJU Vedran Đulabić

Guest Vedran ĐulabićMay 3, 2026
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation

Croatia, according to Professor Vedran Đulabić, exists in an ethical vacuum — a post-transition state where public service is often viewed as a personal opportunity, and corruption is met with a shrug and the local saying, 'who works with honey and doesn't taste it?' This isn't just about individual failings; it's a systemic consequence of rejecting all prior values after the 1990s, leaving a void where public responsibility should be. As a professor of administrative science at the University of Zagreb, Đulabić’s work isn't just about legal frameworks; it’s about how public systems actually function, and often fail, in reality. This conversation dissects the deep-seated issues that plague public administration, the challenges of importing private-sector management models, and the urgent need for a civic re-education. You will walk away with a sharper understanding of why some societies struggle to build public trust, and what it takes to shift a collective mindset.

Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
The Croatian mentality of 'who works with honey and doesn't taste it' isn't just about individual acts of corruption; it describes a society where such acts are met with a shrug. When the public normalizes abuses of public trust, the challenge isn't just to enforce laws, but to rebuild a collective sense of civic responsibility.
02
Croatia's post-1990s transition 'satanized' all prior societal values, even positive ones like solidarity, leaving an 'ethical vacuum' rather than building new foundations. Rejecting an old system entirely, without a deliberate effort to establish new ethical frameworks, can leave a society adrift for decades.
03
Managing a public organization means navigating strong unions, strict legislation, constant media scrutiny, and political influence — a landscape where you 'can almost do what you want' in the private sector is impossible. The public sector isn't just a slower version of a company; it's an entirely different operating environment that demands specialized training, not just private-sector experience.
04
The idea of professional 'city managers' in Croatia, mirroring the US model, runs into a fundamental problem: the lack of a specialized educational system to train them. You cannot simply import a management model without first cultivating the professional class specifically educated to operate within the unique constraints of public administration.
05
Administrative reorganization, like reducing the number of counties or municipalities, is described as a 'real utopia' — necessary for better function, but unlikely to happen soon due to a lack of political will. The practical obstacle to structural improvement isn't usually the logic of the change itself, but the political cost of upsetting existing power structures.
06
The guest notes that after decades, there's less left to privatize in Croatia, implying a reduction in opportunities for large-scale corruption. But the deeper challenge remains: a society's ethical compass needs to be reset by more than just the absence of easy targets for illicit gain.
07
Đulabić states that 'good organization is a factor of success,' comparing it to a company where products need to reach customers at the right time. The absence of direct market pressure in public administration doesn't negate the need for organizational rigor; it just means the consequences of poor organization are felt more broadly and subtly.
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