Montenegrin nationalism

Montenegrin nationalism is the nationalism that asserts that Montenegrins are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Montenegrins.^[1]

From the beginning of the 18th century, the population of Montenegro was torn between variants of Montenegrin and Serbian nationalism.^[2] As opposed to Serbian nationalism, which emphasizes the ethnic Serbian character of the Montenegrins, Montenegrin nationalism emphasizes the right of the Montenegrins to define themselves as a unique nation, not simply as a branch of the Serbs.^[3]

Montenegrin nationalism became a major political issue in World War I when a schism arose between Montenegro's tribes over plans to merge Montenegro with the Kingdom of Serbia, between the pro-independence Green tribes, that included the King of Montenegro amongst them, versus the pro-unification White tribes.^[4] Montenegrin ethnicity was recognized by the Communist government of Yugoslavia in the 1960s though it had been declared previously.^[5]

During the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, Montenegro's President Momir Bulatović supported unity and alliance with Serbia as well as supporting irredentist claims to Dubrovnik and territory in Herzegovina that he stated were historically part of Montenegro.^[6] The Serbian journal Epoha in 1991 declared that if Bosnia and Herzegovina's Bosniaks wanted to secede from Yugoslavia, that Eastern Herzegovina should be ceded to Montenegro.^[7] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia declared that the Serbian and Montenegrin leadership during the siege of Dubrovnik sought to annex Dubrovnik along with the "coastal regions of Croatia between the town of Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the north-west and the Montenegrin border in the south-east" into Montenegro.^[8]

After 1998, Montenegro's government led by Milo Đukanović demanded greater autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.^[2] In 2006, a majority of just over 55% of Montenegrin citizens voted in favour of independence from the state union with Serbia. Contemporary Montenegrin nationalism cites that an independent Montenegrin culture separate from Serbian culture arose after Serbia was taken over by the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century while Montenegro remained independent for many years.^[4]