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Serbian–Montenegrin unionism (Serbian:Српско-црногорски унионизам,romanized: Srpsko-crnogorski unionizam) is a socio-political movement which arose in theBalkans after thebreakup of Yugoslavia.[1] It advocatesMontenegro being in apolitical union withSerbia.[1]
TheSerbs andMontenegrins share common cultural traditions, including religion (majority of both ethnicities adhere to theSerbian Orthodox Church) and language (almost all of Serbs and relative majority of Montenegrins speakSerbian as their mother tongue).[2] According to data from the 2023 Montenegrin census, 205,370 inhabitants or 32.9% of total population ethnically identified as "Serb", with 2,969 (<1%) identifying as "Serb-Montenegrin" or "Montenegrin-Serb".[3] About two million people in Serbia have partial or full ancestry from present-day Montenegro, mostly tracing back to the 18th and 19th centuries, vast majority of whom identify ethnically as Serb, though many (particularly first- or second-generation descendants from Montenegro) also claim a fairly strong Montenegrin regional identity.[4]
Close relations between Montenegro and Serbia are long-standing. There were various plans of restoring a Serbian state in the 18th century, with either Habsburg or Russian support, but these had ultimately failed.[5] In 1736–37 Serbian PatriarchArsenije IV envisioned an autonomous South Slavic state led by the "Illyrian-Rascian nation" (the Serbs) under the Habsburg Monarchy with its own government, army, nobility, churches and schools, with a similar status to Hungary, under the governance of the Serbian Patriarch.[6] In 1782 the former MetropolitanVasilije Petrović in Montenegro (s. 1744–1766) envisioned the restoration of the medieval Serbian state including territories in the Balkans and southern Habsburg Monarchy, while his successorPetar I Petrović'senvoy to Russia presented the project of "kingdom of Old Rascia" in 1798.[7] The archimandrite ofMoračaArsenije Gagović submitted a proposal in 1803 to the Russian court regarding a "Slavic-Serb empire" ruled by a Russian prince, likely with consultation of MetropolitanStefan Stratimirović.[7] The latter sent a confidential memorandum to Russian emperorAlexander I in June 1804 (during theFirst Serbian Uprising) regarding the establishment of an independent Serbian monarchy under theHouse of Romanov encompassing Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Herzegovina, Syrmia, the Bay of Kotor and much of Dalmatia.[7]
On 23 September 1866, Prince Mihailo and Prince Nikola agreed that they would together fight for the liberation of the Serb people in Ottoman territory and to create a united state.[8] The united monarch would be Mihailo, while the Petrović would remain in "great moral and material status".[8]
Montenegro and Serbia were officially recognized as independent states by theOttoman Empire with theTreaty of San Stefano (3 March 1878), following theHerzegovina uprising (1875–1877),Montenegrin–Ottoman War (1876–1878) andSerbian–Ottoman Wars (1876–1878). In the late 19th century Montenegro's aspirations mirrored that of Serbia — unification and independence of Serb-inhabited lands.[9] ThePetrović-Njegoš dynasty tried to take the role as the Serb leader and unifier, but Montenegro's small size and weak economy led to the recognition of the primacy of theKarađorđević dynasty (in Serbia) in this respect.[9]
The two fought as part of theBalkan League when it came to ending the Ottoman presence inRumelia during theFirst Balkan War, and they fought alongside each other againstAustria-Hungary and theGerman Empire duringWorld War I. Plans for unification were finally partially implementedafter the war. ThePodgorica Assembly in November 1918 concluded the decision to merge theKingdom of Montenegro with theKingdom of Serbia, followed by thecreation of Yugoslavia. TheMontenegrin monarchy was thereby removed, and opposition to the annexation culminated in theChristmas Uprising during 1919 in which a part the Montenegrin population demonstrated against the Serbian takeover.[10]
WhenYugoslavia was reformed after World War II, Montenegro became a constituent republic alongside a Serbia. When in 1991 and 1992, the most of Yugoslav republics voted for independence, Montenegro chose to continue a federation with Serbia asFR Yugoslavia (State Union of Serbia and Montenegro after 2003). In late 1990s, Montenegro—led by former pro-unionistMilo Đukanović—reversed its direction and began taking measures to distance itself from Serbia and seek independence. This sentiment, which grew popular among the Montenegrin populace, led to the2006 independence referendum which ended in a majority vote for independence (55.5% of the vote, with the threshold for approval of independence set at a supermajority of 55%).[11][12]
Parliamentary parties:
Non-parliamentary:
Formerly:
Defunct:
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