The event pooled prominent political scientists from Croatia and abroad, who will speak about the development of Croatia's democracy.
The conference is held under the auspices of Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, who opened the event.
Over the past 15 years Croatia has experienced social and political protests and showed that it is capable of coping with ideological, social and political contradictions and differences, Mesic said.
"Considering all the circumstances, primarily the aggression, the war and the post-war reconstruction, the return of displaced people and refugees, the need for reconciliation, forgiveness and co-existence, the problems caused by the change of the economic model, and the need to meet the difficult conditions for the start of accession talks with the EU, we can say that democracy in Croatia has developed at a fast pace.
"We cannot, however, be uncritical and fail to note that democracy in Croatia has had certain flaws as regards institutions and mentality, and this primarily refers to efforts to establish balance between individual rights and freedoms and the well-being of the community, the freedom of market competition and acquisition of property and solidarity, and the role of the state and that of local communities in regulating various issues," Mesic said.
The most difficult problems refer to the role of democratic institutions in implementing and supervising a fair and lawful privatisation process, ensuring social justice, equality before the law, and the credibility of the rule of law in general, he said.
The democratic system in Croatia has failed to respond appropriately to the threat of corruption, nepotism,
lack of professionalism, incompetence and non-transparency in the preparation and adoption of decisions at all levels of public authority, Mesic said, calling for changing the democratic system and making it more efficient and cheaper.