Montenegrin Democratization
A history of Montenegrin democratization.
Contents
Ottoman Occupation
Montenegro has a tradition of resistance going back to the prince-bishopric of Montenegro and the Littoral.
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Following World War 1, but before the declaration of the Kingdom of Serba, Croats, and Slovenes, the Podgorica Assembly voted to join the Kingdom of Serbia.
On March 27, 1941, King Peter II overthrew the Axis-aligned regency of Paul. Germany invaded in retaliation.
Italian and German Occupation
Italy established a puppet governate of Montenegro.
Yugoslavia
Tito led the Yugoslav Partisans to liberate the former kingdom, and following World War 2 established the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. Montenegro was administered as a federal republic within Yugoslavia.
After Tito died, the chair of the presidency council began to rotate among members.
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence. Montenegro also held a referendum on independence but did not exit the federation; a boycott organized by opposition parties may have contributed to that result.
The entire region erupted into violence, in a period known as the Yugoslav Wars.
In 1996, Đukanović enacted several reforms to establish greater autonomy of Montenegro. For example, the German Deutschemark was adopted as currency. The Belgrade Agreement in 2003 further devolved government, and Yugoslavia formally became Serbia and Montenegro.
Republic of Montenegro
In 2006, another referendum was held and independence was declared. Montenegro quickly joined the UN. In 2017 it joined NATO. It is negotiating ascension to the EU; in 2018 the original deadline of 2022 was revised to 2025.
Until 2023, in one office or another, the effective head of state was Đukanović personally. He has led the League of Communists and the Democratic Party of Socialists, which dominated politics until 2020. His brother Aco controlled the first private bank of Montenegro and profited from many of the privatizations that spun off from the former communist state. His sister Ana Kolarevic was de facto in control of the judiciary. Party membership was required to register a private business. He personally is extremely wealthy with no apparent or legal income to explain it.