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RESEARCH CENTER FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS of NAS of Ukraine (KHARKIV, UKRAINE)

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Liburkina L. M.

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Social Support System for Veterans in Croatia: Emergence and Current Status
Kyryliuk V. V., Riabokon I. O.

Kyryliuk, Volodymyr V., and Riabokon, Ivan O. (2026) “Social Support System for Veterans in Croatia: Emergence and Current Status.” Business Inform 7:140–149.
https://doi.org/10.32983/2222-4459-2026-7-140-149

Section: Foreign Experience

Article is written in Ukrainian
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UDC 364:316.6

Abstract:
The article examines international practices in providing social support to war veterans, using the Republic of Croatia as a case study, and identifies opportunities for applying these practices to improve the system of social support for war veterans in Ukraine. The relevance of the study stems from the unprecedented increase in the number of veterans resulting from the russian-Ukrainian war, which presents the State with the task of establishing an effective, comprehensive, and long-term system for the social protection, rehabilitation, and reintegration of military personnel into civilian life. In these circumstances, studying the international experience of countries that have already undergone postwar recovery and established effective mechanisms for supporting veterans takes on particular significance. One such country is Croatia, which, following the 1991–1995 War of Independence, faced significant challenges in the area of social protection for combatants and their families. The research analyzes the characteristics of the Croatian model of social support for veterans, which is based on a combination of State-controlled, municipal, and community assistance mechanisms. It has been found that the system of support for veterans in Croatia developed gradually and encompassed a wide range of measures aimed at providing social guarantees, medical care, psychological rehabilitation, vocational adaptation, employment, housing, and support for veterans’ families. Significant attention was paid not only to the material aspects of social protection but also to creating conditions for the full integration of veterans into society and the restoration of their active role in the country’s economic and public life. The regulatory framework governing the Croatian social protection system for veterans has been analyzed. It has been determined that specialized government agencies responsible for veterans’ affairs, as well as numerous veterans’ organizations that represent the interests of former military personnel and facilitate their social adaptation, play a significant role in the implementation of State policies. A distinctive feature of the Croatian model is the institutionalization of veteran policy and the creation of specific coordination mechanisms among various social support entities, which enables a comprehensive approach to addressing veterans’ issues. It has been found that certain aspects of foreign experience can be implemented in practice in Ukraine, in particular inter-agency coordination of services, support for veteran-owned businesses, and the involvement of civil society organizations in the implementation of State policy. The article was prepared within the framework of the scientific project «Model of Social Support and Professional Reintegration of Veterans» (project registration number: 2025.07/0433), which is implemented with the financial support of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine.

Keywords: veterans of war; social support; the Croatian experience; social protection; psychological support; pension provision; health care; social sector.

Tabl.: 4. Bibl.: 20.

Kyryliuk Volodymyr V. – Candidate of Sciences (Economics), Associate Professor, Associate Professor, Department of Socioeconomics and Personnel Management, Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman (54/1 Beresteiskyi Ave., Kyiv, 03057, Ukraine)
Email: [email protected]
Riabokon Ivan O. – Candidate of Sciences (Economics), Associate Professor, Associate Professor, Department of Socioeconomics and Personnel Management, Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman (54/1 Beresteiskyi Ave., Kyiv, 03057, Ukraine)
Email: [email protected]

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