Connected by Sea, Isolated by Water: Water and Water Supply Infrastructure on Two Croatian Islands

This article presents ethnographic research on the lack of water infrastructure on two Croatian islands – Žirje and Hvar. Both islands are examples of various forms of isolation that have persisted throughout history and have even been reinforced by absent or neglected water infrastructure. The author critically examines the social, cultural, and economic role of water as a factor or survival or disappearance, along with its political and demographic consequences.