Nationalism and the misuse of religion stand in the way of the region’s development
Opening remarks at the Regional plenum in Podgorica
Nationalism and the instrumentalization of religion for political purposes are eroding the democratic foundations of the region and distancing it from European values, while the solutions are far from as simple as populists attempt to present them, it was stated at the official opening of the regional plenary session “Fractures in Democracy: Nationalism and Clericalism in the Western Balkans.”
The regional plenary is jointly organized by the Academy for Democratic Development (ADD), the Centre for Civic Education (CGO) in Podgorica, the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo (FPN), and the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES).
The Executive Director of ADD, Balša Božović, reflected on the situation in Serbia and the tragedy in Novi Sad. “The inquiry commission established by professors from the Belgrade and Novi Sad universities reviewed more than 500,000 documents, conducted its investigation, and determined that Vučić is personally responsible for the tragedy,” Božović stated.
He reminded that Serbia has gone through a difficult decade—thirteen years—under the rule of the current regime led by Aleksandar Vučić.
“All of this is summed up in the recently published European Commission Report: the European integration process has been interrupted, completely halted. Serbia is described as a point of instability, as a Russian partner in the Western Balkans, and as a state moving contrary to the European Union’s foreign and security policies,” Božović said.
He noted that the region has also endured several difficult decades marked by the bleak legacy of Greater-Serbian politics and by continued efforts of certain actors to revive the idea of a “Serb World,” in open opposition to the Europeanization of the region.
Quoting journalist Toma Marković, Božović stated that “Ćacilend is Greater Serbia in miniature.”
“Everything that this concept represented in the 1990s, and everything it represents today, is found there. Members of the Special Operations Unit (JSO), responsible for war crimes and for assassinating Serbia’s Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić in 2003, are there. The head of the Zemun clan, known in Montenegro as part of the Škaljari criminal network, is there as well. Ćacilend is home to individuals indicted for war crimes, rapists, criminals, and thugs,” Božović said.
“This is the value system Vučić upholds in front of his office, attempting to suppress citizens and trap the entire region in an anti-European narrative. This is the alternative he offers—if you do not want the European Union, here is Ćacilend. That is precisely why it is essential for Montenegro to join the EU, because it will strengthen democratic forces inside Serbia fighting for the country’s transformation,” Božović emphasized.
The German Ambassador to Montenegro, Peter Felten, stated that the main themes of this year’s regional plenary—nationalism and clericalism—are among the key issues affecting peace and stability in the Western Balkans and the region’s prospects for European Union (EU) accession, but are equally relevant for the whole of Europe.
He underlined that nationalism is the opposite of patriotism and brings intolerance, division, and the negation of “others,” whether at the international level, within the EU, or inside individual societies.
“Nationalism clearly stands in the way of the region’s progress, and the misuse of religion for political purposes has never led to peace,” Felten said, noting that it narrows the space for citizens because the state becomes the captive of certain national or religious groups.
“In my view, the anti-fascist, civic, and multi-ethnic elements are the best characteristics of Montenegrin national identity. The social cohesion of this country depends on promoting and actively defending those characteristics,” Felten stressed.
He paid particular attention to the manipulation of European values by opponents of EU integration. “The deliberate misrepresentation of EU values has become a weapon for those who do not want their countries to join the European Union,” Felten said, noting that this propaganda has contributed to declining support for the EU in Montenegro in recent months. He emphasized that those who demonize European values should be asked what exactly is wrong with these values, and why they oppose them.
“Sinister narratives are often rooted in clericalism and nationalism,” Felten concluded, adding that civil society must serve as the primary force of resistance against such harmful approaches.
The Executive Director of the Centre for Civic Education (CGO), Daliborka Uljarević, emphasized that the theme of this year’s plenary is not only a diagnosis of the state of democracy in the region but also a call to action.
“These fractures are not abstract. They are present in institutions that are losing citizens’ trust, in an education system retreating before myths, and in societies where fear and obedience to authority increasingly replace critical thinking and freedom. Democracy in the Balkans is not breaking because of weak laws, but because of weak values—and it is time to make them strong again,” Uljarević stated.
She illustrated this with an example from Montenegro. “These fractures are real. This is evident from the fact that our law-enforcement bodies have allegedly been unable, since August, to locate a two-meter-tall bronze monument to a convicted war criminal. They are being publicly mocked by the most radical part of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which today controls key levers of power in a nominally secular state, all in the interest of an autocrat from a neighboring country who thereby demonstrates how easily he can influence Montenegro,” Uljarević said.
Reflecting further on Montenegro, she stressed that leadership cannot be measured solely through technical criteria, but through the incorporation of European values that society genuinely upholds and lives.
The Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Sarajevo, Sead Turčalo, argued that the region is exposed to the “danger of simplicity” because nationalists and populists offer overly simple solutions to highly complex problems. “These simplistic answers create fractures within democracy because they eliminate everything they consider unnecessary — and among the ‘unnecessary’ is also the pluralism of opinion,” Turčalo stated.
He emphasized that simplicity leads to exclusion, reminding that it was precisely exclusionary ideologies in this region that generated wars and war crimes.
“Our task is not to simply fill these fractures in democracy, but to look through them, see the light, establish dialogue, and through that dialogue cultivate pluralism and attempt to reach solutions,” Turčalo said.
He added that those who seek simplicity cannot respond to pluralism and dialogue, and “that is why these fractures should not be closed, but filled with dialogue.”
The Director of the FES Office for Montenegro, Serbia, and the Office for North Macedonia, Peter Hurelbrink, stated that over the years the regional plenary has become an important forum for exchanging views on the most significant issues facing societies in the Western Balkans.
He thanked the partners – the CGO, ADD, and the Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo – for organizing the plenary.
“I hope that we will provide as many new insights, opportunities for cooperation, and concrete results as possible,” Hurelbrink said.
