Reconstructing the Meaning of Being Montenegrin

Sa？etak Although there has been a significant change in the content of the category of Montenegrin identity, the policies adopted by the Montenegrin government within its nation-building project have been only partly successful. This study examines popular support for the policies that have helped to reconstruct Montenegrin identity in the decades following the disintegration of socialist Yugoslavia. The specific focus is on the symbolic reconstruction of identity parameters in Montenegro after the split of the ruling party in 1997, and the start of political divisions in this tiny Balkan state. By examining original quantitative and qualitative data, the analysis associates the divide related to the question of statehood with perceptions of identity, showing how the content of national identity categorized as Montenegrin changed as a result of people’s support for or opposition to Montenegrin independence