The Role of Elites in the Formation of National Identities: the Ac Se of Montenegro Muhammed F
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University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School November 2017 The Role of Elites in the Formation of National Identities: The aC se of Montenegro Muhammed F. Erdem University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Political Science Commons Scholar Commons Citation Erdem, Muhammed F., "The Role of Elites in the Formation of National Identities: The asC e of Montenegro" (2017). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/7020 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Role of Elites in the Formation of National Identities: The Case of Montenegro by Muhammed F. Erdem A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Co-Major Professor: Darrell Slider, Ph.D. Co-Major Professor: Bernd Reiter, Ph.D. Giovanna Benadusi, Ph.D. Date of Approval: October 31, 2017 Keywords: Montenegro, Nationalism, Ethnicity, National identity, Elite competition Copyright © 2017, Muhammed F. Erdem i TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Methodology .....................................................................................................................................5 Definition of Terms ..........................................................................................................................8 Organizational Structure of the Study ..............................................................................................9 Chapter One: An Overview of Predominating Theories of Nationalism ...................................... 12 Introduction .....................................................................................................................................12 Primordialism ..................................................................................................................................15 Modernism ......................................................................................................................................17 Economic transformation. ..................................................................................................18 Political transformation. ....................................................................................................22 Social/Cultural transformation. ..........................................................................................26 Ethno-Symbolism ...........................................................................................................................30 Paul Brass’ Theory of Nationalism: The Role of Elites in the Construction of National Identity .32 Chapter Two: Early Formulations of a Distinct Montenegrin National Thought ......................... 38 Introduction .....................................................................................................................................38 Montenegro Until World War I ......................................................................................................39 The Formation of Divergent National Thoughts Among Elites in Montenegro: 1910-1941 .........48 Early Formulations of National Thought. ..........................................................................49 The Unconditional of Montenegro with the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. ...52 The Trajectory of the Montenegrin National Thought within the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. .........................................................................................................55 The Divergence of National Thought in Montenegrin Politics in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. ........................................................................................................................59 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................60 Chapter Three: Ethno-Political Divide in Montenegro During the Yugoslav Twentieth Century 62 Introduction .....................................................................................................................................62 The Design and Workings of Yugoslavia .......................................................................................63 Federal Structure and Constitutional Amendments ...........................................................63 Yugoslav Supranational Identity and the Montenegrin Question ......................................64 Institutionalization of Nationhood .....................................................................................68 The Role of State Socialism in Montenegro’s Drive into Modernity: Transition from Ethnic Group to Community ......................................................................................................................69 Further Formulations of Divergent National Thoughts ..................................................................73 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................74 ii Chapter Four: Caught Between Green and White: Identity Politics in Post-communist Montenegro and the Construction of Montenegrin-ness .............................................................. 76 Introduction .....................................................................................................................................76 Montenegro in Post-Yugoslav Era ..................................................................................................77 The breakup of Yugoslavia and the emergence of new Montenegrin elites. .....................77 The realignment of Montenegrin politics: the split of the DPS. ........................................81 ‘Creeping Independence’: the death of the Yugoslav idea. ...............................................84 Road to independence: Montenegrin politics in the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. .......................................................................................................................89 Montenegro in Post-Independence Era ...........................................................................................94 The Reformulation of What It Means to be a Montenegrin. .............................................98 Political elements of the re-imagination of Montenegrin-ness. ............................98 Party identification. ...............................................................................100 Identification with the state. ..................................................................101 Military service as an instrument for identity construction. ..................102 Foreign Policy as an identity marker. ....................................................103 National Holidays. .................................................................................105 Ethno-cultural elements of the re-imagination of Montenegrin-ness. ................105 State symbols. ........................................................................................106 Language. ..............................................................................................107 Religion. ................................................................................................109 Who are the Montenegrins?. ...............................................................................111 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................120 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 121 References ................................................................................................................................... 132 Appendices .................................................................................................................................. 144 Appendix A: Copyright for the Use of the Survey Results ..........................................................144 iii ABSTRACT This study aims to answer two interlinked central questions with respect to Montenegrins’ divide over statehood and identity: Why and how Montenegrins, whom were once called ‘the purest and the best of Serbs’, sought to end their century-long common state experience with Serbia and instead establish their own nation-state in 2006, and what explains the rise of Montenegrin national identity and its transformation into nationalism? In attempting to answer these questions, it traces the historical development of Montenegrin national thought dating back to the early 20th century when Montenegro was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Through the use and examination of opinion polls, newspaper articles, political and ethno-cultural