In the context of a lack of strategic consensus, this briefing paper lays out the main issues around the structures and processes of local governance, particularly in relation to the role of provincial and district councils.
Topic:
Governance, Local, State Building, Community, and Strategic Stability
The possible disintegration of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the SerbMontenegrin tensions since 1997 stand out in the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia by both the lack of violence and the secondary role ethnicity plays in the dispute. While the conflict has historical roots in the relationship between Serbia and Montenegro and the incorporation of Montenegro into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes after World War One, its trigger was the policy of the Milošević regime towards the junior partner in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, established in May 1992. The Montenegrin prime minister at the time and later president, Milo Djukanović, sought to position himself against the Belgrade authorities and pursued a course of greater autonomy for Montenegro, resulting in the demand for independence. Despite being triggered by the Milošević regime, the dispute did not end with the fall of Milošević on 5 October 2000. In fact, Serb-Montenegrin relations – although there no longer was a threat of armed escalation through the Yugoslav authorities – have deteriorated since the democratic changes in Serbia. Today, the conflict has taken on two distinct dimensions.
Topic:
Governance, Minorities, Ethnicity, Discrimination, and State Building