Yesterday the people of Montenegro voted to declare their independence from Serbia by a margin of 0.4% (according to the various press reports) over the 55% supramajoritarian level set by the European Union. This little nation of 670,000 inhabitants hopes that its independence will speed its acceptance into the EU. For the last three years it has (without authorization from the EU, to boot) used the Euro as its sole currency, not accepting the Serbian dinar.
I happen to have a liking for Macedonia, I must admit. While it has only been recognized as an independent nation between 1878 and 1918, when it was a small "tintin" monarchy ruled by one of those Eastern European dynasties with unpronounceable names that fell after WWI, Macedonia is the only area of the Balkans to have never been conquered by the Ottoman Turks. The remote forested mountains of this area (which gave the land its name--Montenegro means "black mountain" in Italian, named after the Venetians who lusted after conquering its shores for their maritime empire). The land of Montenegro is roughtly coincident with one of the earliest "Serbian" states, that of Zeta, which was first organized around 1000AD. It's not as if Montenegro is a new nation in any sense.
The loss of Montenegro spells the bitter end of Serbian hegenomy over "Greater Serbia," as it is the fifth territory to declare independence after the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1992. It follows Slovenia (the only former Yugoslav Republic to enter the EU, and another favorite little state of mine), Croatia, Bosnia, and Macedonia to declare its independence. Kossovo, a mostly Albanian territory conquered by Serbia during the First Balkan War, looks to declare its independence later this year. After 1878, Serbia looked to swallow its smaller neighbors and rule over the southern slavs as their "elder brother," a dream that turned into a nightmare in the 1990's with ugly nationalistic wars and massacres in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kossovo. Serbia's territory is now limited to "core Serbia," its territories in 1878, as well as Vojvodina, the territory it gained after WWI as a reward for fighting against Austria-Hungary.
Of course, Montenegro's reward for allying with its Serbian cousins and standing up to Austria-Hungary was losing its independence and being treated until WWII (when the little land was popular with the Communist partisans of Tito) as a province of Serbia. I am hopeful that this little mountainous coastal land (for various reasons I have an affinity for independent-minded hill people) can manage to thrive as an independent nation. It has ports (something that Serbia, now a landlocked country, lacks), and its beautiful coastline attracts tourists. Despite having only 9% of the population of what remained of Yugoslavia, its economy was responsible for (statistics say) 15% of the economy. This means that though Montenegro will be a small nation, it is a promising one economically.
The main problem I see with Montenegro is its leadership. A chameleon-like former Communist protege of Milosevic rules over Montenegro, and there are unpleasant stories of Moldovan sex slaves and cigarette (!) smuggling. That said, the future looks more promising for Montenegro as an independent nation than as an appendage of a vestigial Yugoslavia. We shall see what happens with this latest little nation, which once again joins the community of independent peoples.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
Did a "tintin" government lead to the phrase "tinhorn dictator?"
Serious question there -- "tintin" is new-new to me.
Tintin is a French language cartoon (from Belgium I believe) about a reporter and his blundering associates who travel all around the world to various banana republics, third world kleptocracies, and so forth. The cartoon masks its rather biting political and social commentary with slapstick farce about incompetent Europeans and ersatz glamorous tourist destinations.
As far as the relationship between Tintin and tinhorn dictatorships, it may be coincidental, but it may not. Starting in the late 19th century, tinhorn or tinpot was used to describe nations (like Montenegro) that were attractive on the outside, but really shoddily ruled. The expression tinhorn dictator refers to a second or third class dictator whose rule is corrupt and whose nation is pretty pathetic. That Tintin the cartoon character tended to frequent such places may not be coincidental. I think the expression tintin, therefore, came from tinhorn or tinpot, rather than the other way around.
Post a Comment