OSW Commentary - Growing pains. Montenegro after 16 years of independence - The genesis of sovereignty

The legacy of DPS, who view themselves as the founding fathers of Montenegrin independence, is associated with certain successes (the launch of accession talks with the EU, Montenegro joining NATO, the country’s economic development), but also has major drawbacks, such as the reduction of democratic standards, the concentration of economic and financial resources in the hands of the ruling elite,. [...] A major decline in the share of the industrial sector in the country’s GDP was recorded at that time – from 45% in 1989 down to 12% in 2000.5 However, the dynamic development of the tourist sector emerged as the new impetus for the economy – its share in the country’s GDP increased from 2.5% in 2000 to 7.8% in 2019.6 In Montenegro, the economic transition processes towards a modern market economy. [...] The system of power built by DPS, who ruled the country for three decades, has resulted in them ap- propriating the important spheres of public life, including the judiciary, the economy and the media, and in a rise in corruption, the abuse of power and tolerance for organised crime. [...] The politicians who have been in power since 2020 emphasised that it was necessary to regulate the Church’s functioning in the long-term perspective due to the fact that the law on the freedom of religion or belief enacted at the end of DPS’s rule copied certain legislative solutions introduced in the Communist Yugoslavia era and limited its freedom in various spheres of life, including: education. [...] In addition, the Serbian Orthodox Church continues to be an ally of the Russian Orthodox Church which promotes Russophile thinking and backs the policy pursued by the Kremlin.21 This conflict is likely to endure and will continue to polarise society, although it is favourable to both sides: to DPS because it enables it to position itself as the guarantor of the state’s secular nature, and to the e.