How the nations are being constructed: The Montenegrin case

Abstract

The author analysis a problem of construction of small nations as a part of geopolitical strategies of the big powers. He investigates birth and development of constructivist theory of identity after the Second World War, which helped better understanding of complex processes of making and developing of nations, but at the end finished as a radical position in which constructing is equalized with pure fiat and de facto leads to delegitimization of long lasting national projects. In this article focus is settled on very indicative case of development of Montenegrin nation. Author claims that huge strategic plan of acting of the big powers toward Balkans area in the last two centuries is based on containment and suppressing of Serbian ethnic population, changing of their identity (especially at the border area), and on preventing of creation of serious Serbian state that would unite majority of Serbs. Political games surrounding the change of identity of Montenegrins are perceived as a part of this broader picture. Author starts with presentation of motives that were used for creation of separate identity of this small country inhabited with Serbian population. As a birth place of this idea he indicates Vienna and Budapest at the end of 19th century, which also had support of some very influential English intellectual circles. The next step in chronology is made by Croatian catholic intellectuals like Ivo Pilar and Milan Shuffly, but crucial contribution is given by the Communist party of Yugoslavia, which introduced separate Montenegrin nation. There are also internal incentives such as political ambitions of King Nikola, material and status interests of new court elite and finally regional specificity and history of statehood. Then, the author displays the phases in the construction and shows how incentives for this development were coming mostly from Vienna, Vatican, communist Moscow and lately from Washington. He proves that no one of the Montenegrin federalists in the twenties denied their belonging to the Serbian ethnic corpus. The real industry of identity started after the Second World War. Especially significant was a period during the time of Croatian Maspok. It is the period when Njegos chapel was destroyed to be replaced with Mestrovic's mausoleum, and when Titograd's University and Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts were established. This is followed by the part in which author displays radicalization of mentioned tendencies at the beginning on 1990's and especially the way in which they were adopted as a platform for independence after 1997 when Djukanovic took the power, and 1999 when Jevrem Brkovic returned from Zagreb. Final part of the article deals with the elements of construction of the 'Montenegrin nation' that have been created and developed in the last fifteen to twenty years: language, alphabet, church, symbols and institutions. It becomes clear that method of implementation of the politics of reconfiguration of identity is based on permanent step by step transformation of the mainstream of public discourse. Especially young generations and university elite are perceived as a target for this identity politics. The whole this construction is based on lies, propaganda and historical forgeries. The time tell how successful they were, but cases like Vojvodina already indicate tat the same model is on a way to be used in other areas.