NEVLADIN SEKTOR CRNE GORE - PROŠLOST, SADAŠNJOST, IZGLEDI ZA BUDUĆNOST
NON-GOVERNMENTAL SECTOR OF MONTENEGRO - PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE PROSPECTS

Author(s): Srđan Darmanović, Rade Bojović
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Civil Society
Published by: CEDET Centar za demokratsku tranziciju
Keywords: civil society; non-governmental sector; NGOs; Milosevic's regime; the government of Montenegro; type of transition; opposition; alternative; Law on NGOs; legislative initiatives; economic sustainabili
Summary/Abstract: During the decisive last decade of the past century, Montenegrin civil initiatives and independent media painstakingly struggled with marginal social status and a political climate that prevented the development of civil society. The disintegration of Yugoslavia, the war and other accompanying consequences of this severe crisis had major consequences for Montenegrin society and the state. In such conditions, when destructive processes dominated the public scene, the first Montenegrin institutions and civil society organizations were created. These relatively few but vocal representatives of the civil sector represented, in fact, one of the main centers of the opposition movement in Montenegro until the end of 1997 and the political upheaval in Montenegro. This first period of activities of civil society organizations was a period of antagonistic attitude towards the Montenegrin government, because that government acted as a political ally of the Milošević regime at the time. The second period, after the political upheaval in Montenegro and the split of the ruling DPS, from 1997 to the end of 2000, i.e. until the fall of the Milošević regime in Belgrade, was a period of mutual tolerance and partial and occasional cooperation between the civil sector and the Montenegrin government78. In some aspects, and especially in terms of defense against the common danger - Milosevic's regime, this relationship also had elements of a strategic alliance. 28 Here, by government, we do not mean only the Prime Minister's cabinet, but the government in a broader sense, i.e. to the authorities in Montenegro, regardless of whether it is the legislative or executive power. The different type of political transition in Serbia and Montenegro also affected the different types of activities of civil society organizations. In Serbia, the political transition ended with the final confrontation between the regime and the opposition, in which an exhausted dictatorial regime collapsed and collapsed. In this decisive confrontation, civil society actors were not only allies but also an integral part of the opposition movement in Serbia. The transition in Montenegro had a different course. At the same time, the government in Montenegro became the opposition to the Milošević regime. In the nominally federal system of the then two-member federation (FRY), the government of one state (Montenegro) became an opponent of the government/regime of another state (Serbia/federation). In this conflict, civil society actors were naturally on the side of the pro-democratic government, but also on the side of their country.

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