This article explores how particular layers of the Western Zeitgeist and the Croatian social and economic context influenced the emergence and development of green entrepreneurship, and whether they could be helpful in understanding the potential transition to a green economy. It is argued that what initially drove several of interviewees to green entrepreneurships could be subsumed under the label rejectionist ethic used here to encompass different modes of rejecting modern economic institutions and the usual life trajectory of completing one’s education and working at a job in line with one’s social position and/or education.

This article focuses on experiences of people in the Banija region and specifically the town of Petrinja, Croatia, after an earthquake hit the area in December 2020. It presents their reflections on being confined to “container homes” in three different situations: living in container settlements on the outskirts of town; spending time in a container shopping center; and finding shelter in containers adjacent to destroyed houses. The study shows that temporary container housing frequently turned into permanent living and working solutions during the three years of post-earthquake reconstruction. It also argues the importance of acknowledging that the sense of isolation in disaster-affected areas and the loss of potential for renovation and development do not merely arise from “container life” but reveal the longer-run “polycrisis” involved.

Summary: In this study the construct of a ‘good life’ was explored among upper secondary school senior pupils and their parents and teachers by applying cultural consensus model analysis. A total of 469 students, 474 parents and 158 teachers from four Croatian cities participated in the study, which was conducted in 2011/2012. The information collected through interviewing and free-listing during the first phase of the study was used to create a set of structured questionnaire questions as a part of the survey in the second phase of data collection. The results are reported on two good-life sub-domains: ‘health & well-being’ and ‘migration & socioeconomic milieu’. The results indicate heterogeneity of the sample groups, incomplete inter-generational transmission of cultural values and examples of two sub-groups that resist cultural norms and do not comply with the dominant ‘competence-as-sharing’ paradigm. The value of testing the cultural consensus model based on the emic approach and locally significant phenomena is demonstrated for planning and conducting holistic anthropological research.

This article employs an anthropology ‘at-home’ approach to discuss dimensions of social and cultural changes amongst women in posttransitional societies. By applying person-centred ethnography, we aim to provide rich insights into the socio-cultural context and individual development of a young woman in Croatia. We examine how a young woman reasons about what kind of a person she is and wants to become by comparing the different sets of basic values that she ascribes to her emancipatory efforts, with a focus on how she juxtaposes ‘traditional family roles’ and ‘feminist values’. The article thus describes how this woman (Jadranka) experiences life challenges and shapes social values in her everyday cultural settings.

This article investigates isolation as a complex physical and symbolic phenomenon. The studies presented in the article and in this special issue explore how isolation impacts identities, social cohesion, and community life – especially in times of ongoing and interconnected crises. The authors examine the multifaceted nature of isolation that informs daily practices, emotional wellbeing, and community bonds, offering insights into the challenges and resilience seen in isolated communities.