A Nation‐state without the nation? The trajectories of nation‐formation in Montenegro¹

Abstract

Following the successful referendum of May 2006, Montenegro became the last of the former Yugoslav republics to opt for an independent state. Only fifteen years earlier, when the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia collapsed, Montenegro was resolute to continue the Yugoslav state-formation in a union with Serbia. This paper attempts to answer the following questions: Why did it take so much longer for the Montenegrin population to follow the experience of other republics in its decision on independence? How can one explain a staggering change in public opinion on questions of national self-determination over such a short time-span? And, finally, what are the dominant discourses of ''Montenegrin-ness''? The authors argue that the answers to these questions are to be found in the particularities of Montenegro's historical development, and especially in the structural legacies of state socialism. The consequence of these developments was the formation of two separate Montenegrin national ideologies: one which sees Montenegrins as ethnically Serb, and the other that defines Montenegrins in civic terms. The paper concludes that these two divergent trajectories of nation-formation in Montenegro are largely the unintended consequence of intensive state-building, cultural and political modernisation and, most of all, the gradual politicisation and institutionalisation of high culture.

Ethnic relations in Montenegro twelve years after gaining independence

“…Такође, Црна Гора је једина држава на Балкану у којој је већина релативна, дакле, мање од 50% становништва се изјаснило као Црногорци. Политичко одвајање Црне Горе од Србије проузроковало је раздоре између Срба и Црногораца који су тада заједно чинили већину становништва Црне Горе (Malešević & Uzelac, 2007). Данас у Црној Гори живи 44,98% Црногораца и 28,73% Срба.…”

“…Montenegro is also the only country in the Balkan region in which the majority is relative: less than 50% of the population is ethnic Montenegrin. Montenegro's political separation from Serbia resulted problems between Montenegrins and Serbs who composed the country's majority together (Malešević & Uzelac, 2007). Montenegro today is 44.98% Montenegrin and 28.73% Serb.…”

Break-up of the Yugoslav political elite, 1962-1972

“…Nacije su se u Titovoj Jugoslaviji razvijale i jačale samim kontinuiranim međunacionalnim sukobima, koji su bili do pred kraj ograničeni na elitu(e) (Haug, 2012: 349-376;Flere i Klanjšek, 2019). Istina, nacije su polazile od različitih tačaka svog konstituisanja, dok su neke 1945. bile već sazrele, druge su tek sazrevale (Flere i Klanjšek, 2019;Pantelić, 2011;Malešević i Uzelac, 2007), ali je teško zamisliti da je ikad mogla da se uspostavi kulturno jedinstvena jugoslovenska nacija, mada je takvih nastojanja bilo (Wachtel, 1998).…”

Peace Mediators as Norm Entrepreneurs: The EU's Norm Diffusion Strategy in Montenegro's Referendum on Independence

“…These were the normative standards that reflected the preferences of the pro‐independence camp, heralded by the political parties that were in power along, and gathered around the Movement for Independent Montenegro . On the other hand, the pro‐unionist camp centered around the Movement for the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro , and was composed of opposition parties that predominantly appealed to ethnic Serbs in Montenegro (who at that point accounted for 32% of the population), those Montenegrins that endorsed the vision of Montenegro as a “territorial region of Serbdom” (Malešević and Uzelac 2007: 710). Based on their electoral experience, they knew that under the existing referendum law they were short of the necessary support they needed to prevent independence.…”