Marek Mikuš's chapter on debt collection in Croatia now Open Access

Marek Mikuš's 2020 chapter "Making Debt Work: Devising and Debating Debt Collection in Croatia", published as part of the collection Financialization: Relational Approaches edited by Chris Hann and Don Kalb, has been converted to Open Access. The OA version of the chapter is available here under the "Expand ToC" button. The chapter focuses on debt collection as a crucial stage in the life-cycle of debt, which however had been insufficiently recognized in the anthropology of credit/debt. Specifically, it draws on publicly available data and interactions with debtors, professionals and activists to explore Croatia’s unique system of debt collection. Facing demands of European integration and a surge of bad loans after a financialized debt boom, the government authorized a state-owned agency, public notaries, and lawyers to collect debts in highly coercive and profitable ways. Foreign-owned debt collection agencies also rapidly expanded their presence. This resulted in public debates and political struggles over debt collection.