Duality of Montenegrin Geopolitics from the Middle Ages to the Contemporary Era

Bulgarian Historical Review, 53 (2025), No. 4, pp. 169-199
DOI: https://doi.org/10.71069/BHR4.25.MPTS07

Teodora Stanković, Marijan Premović

Abstract: The main characteristic of the Montenegrin political scene is its geopolitical duality; while one part of the society is oriented towards the West, another part is aligned with the East. When analyzing the causes, the post-communist period is most often observed, starting from the early 1990s. However, in order to better understand the division of Montenegrin society, it is necessary to conduct much deeper historical analysis. Thus, the paper examines different forms of geopolitical duality of Montenegro from Middle Ages to the contemporary era. Throughout this historical period, a line was drawn which shows that this geopolitical duality has deep roots extending through various epochs of Montenegrin history. The comprehensive analysis given in this paper is supported by a significant number of historical facts, upon which a reflection on historical division in contemporary politics is made. Although the geopolitical duality exists from the Middle Ages, the form that appears during the Petrović Njegoš dynasty has strong influence nowadays and can be considered as counterpart of duality in Montenegrin modern political era. This approach greatly facilitates the understanding of the divisions within Montenegrin society and could be a good basis for defining policies that can significantly reduce these divisions over time.

Keywords: Geopolitical duality; Montenegro; historical continuity; political identity..

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