INTER-ETHNIC VERSUS INTER-STATE RELATIONS IN MONTENEGRO
INTER-ETHNIC VERSUS INTER-STATE RELATIONS IN MONTENEGRO

Summary/Abstract: Montenegro was the smallest republic of former Yugoslavia, both in terms of the size of its territory, as well as its population. Unlike other states that were created after the dissolution of former Yugoslavia, Montenegro’s path towards independence after the disintegration of former Yugoslavia has undergone through three major phases such as– from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), through State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, to independent Montenegro. Montenegrins and Serbs have for centuries shared the same language and religious beliefs as well as certain common features of their respective traditional cultures. Accordingly, throughout history the two nations have in general had long periods of coexistence, sometimes even of identification with each other. Since independence of Montenegro in 2006, inter-ethnic relations between Montenegrins and Serbs in Montenegro have been rather tense, and its society has been divided among many issues. Crucial role of other minorities on positive of independence referendum has also deteriorated inter-ethnic relations between Serbs and these minorities. The main aim of the paper is to analyse the current state of inter-ethnic relations between the two main ethnicities in Montenegro, and to offer an analysis of the causality between inter-ethnic and interstate relations. The paper claims that similarly to most of the countries in the Western Balkans, inter-ethnic and interstate relations are basically the components of the same equation. The paper concludes that in Montenegro, such causality between inter-ethnic and interstate relations is more valid with regard to relations between Montenegro and Serbia, than between Montenegro and other “mother states” such as Albania, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Accordingly, the overall inter-ethnic relations between Montenegrins and Serbs in Montenegro heavily depend on inter-state relations between Montenegro and Serbia and vice versa.

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