Traditional census
Censuses are from all time and are still important today, because they describe the population and standard of living of a country. However, Western and Eastern European countries use different census methods. Hoh: “A major difference is the method of collecting demographic data. For example, in the Netherlands and Scandinavia they use register data, which most other countries do not have. In Croatia, Bosnia and North Macedonia, the population census is still carried out in the traditional way, using pen and paper. Investigators go door to door to collect data on the local population.
Ethnic origin, language, religion
Another striking difference according to Hoh is that, in the past, Croatia, Bosnia and North Macedonia have conducted censuses that included the collection of data on ethnicity, language and religion: “This despite the fact that ethnic groups were at war here in the 1990s. But these data still arouse some interest in certain Balkan countries. This is partly because minorities can derive certain rights from census results. This makes census implementation a political issue.
Knowledge and expertise
Hoh completed his doctorate under the supervision of Professor Hans Schmeets, Endowed Professor of Political Science at Maastricht University and head of the Social Statistics Program at CBS. He frequently traveled to the Balkans from 1996 to observe various elections on behalf of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) and is familiar with regional political relations and sensitivities. What type of knowledge and expertise did CBS bring to the thesis research? Schmeets: “My colleague and project manager of the Dutch census, Eric Schulte Nordholt, has been closely involved in the preparation and execution of censuses in our country for several decades. He also advises other countries on this topic and was able to share his knowledge and experiences with Anna-Lena Hoh. When preparing the questionnaires for the quantitative part of Hoh’s study, the expertise of the “het vragenlab” (the questionnaire laboratory) and Annemieke Luiten from CBS proved very relevant. Additionally, CBS developed a strategy to increase the survey response rate among census experts.
Influence of the European Union
The European Union and its enlargement policy influence the implementation of censuses in the Balkans. “Croatia, Bosnia and North Macedonia were part of the former Yugoslavia,” explains Hoh. “They became independent after the war. These countries are on the way to becoming democracies, but their development is different. While Croatia is considered a democracy, Bosnia and North Macedonia are not as developed. The EU supports these countries in their democratic development, even if this does not always happen without problems. An example is the census in North Macedonia, which was interrupted early due to disagreements over census methodology. Changing the definition of “habitual residence” could affect the rights of ethnic minorities, in this case the country’s ethnic Albanians.
Successful thesis research
Schmeets is satisfied with the thesis research. “It is important for my faculty to conduct more qualitative and quantitative empirical research. Being able to do this through successful dissertation research is a good thing. Additionally, we managed to obtain a grant from the NWO (the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, tr.) as part of the highly competitive Research Talent Program. Anna-Lena Hoh turned out to be a very suitable candidate for this.