Nationalism and the misuse of religion for political purposes are eroding the democratic foundations of the region and distancing it from European values, and the solutions are not as simple as populists attempt to present them, this was the key message delivered at the official opening of the regional plenum “Cracks in Democracy: Nationalism and Clericalism in the Western Balkans.”
The regional plenum is jointly organised by the Centre for Civic Education (CCE), the Regional Academy for the Development of Democracy (ADD) from Novi Sad, the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo (FPN), and the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES).
The German Ambassador to Montenegro, Peter Felten, assessed that the themes of this year’s regional plenum – nationalism and clericalism – are among the key issues related to peace and stability in the Western Balkans, the prospects of the region’s states joining the European Union (EU), but that they are also relevant for the whole of Europe.
He pointed out that nationalism is contrary to patriotism and brings intolerance, divisions and denial of “others”, both at the international level, within the EU, and within individual societies.
“Nationalism clearly stands in the way of the region’s development, and the misuse of religion for political purposes has never led to peace,” said Felten, noting that this leads to the narrowing of space for citizens because the state becomes the prey of certain national or religious groups.
“Anti-fascist, civic and multi-ethnic elements, in my opinion, are the best characteristics of Montenegrin national identity. The social cohesion of this state depends on supporting and actively defending those characteristics,” underlined Felten.
He particularly referred to the manipulation of European values by opponents of EU integration. “The misrepresentation of EU values has become a weapon of those who do not want EU membership,” said Felten, stating that because of such propaganda there has been less support for the EU in recent months in Montenegro. He stressed that those who demonise European values should be asked what is wrong with them and why they are against them.
“Sinister narratives are often based on clericalism and nationalism,” concluded Felten, adding that civil society must serve as the primary counterforce to such harmful approaches.
The Executive Director of the CCE, Daliborka Uljarević, stated that the title of this year’s plenum is not only a diagnosis of the state of democracy in the region, but also a call to action.
“Those cracks are not abstract, they are in institutions that are losing the trust of citizens, in education that retreats before myths, and in societies where fear and faith in authority are increasingly replacing critical thinking and freedom. Democracy in the Balkans does not crack because of weak laws, but because of weak values, and it is time to make them strong again,” said Uljarević.
She illustrated this with an example from Montenegro. “Those cracks are real. This is shown by the fact that our law enforcement bodies, since August, allegedly cannot locate a two-meter bronze monument of a war criminal. They are publicly mocked by the most radical part of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which today holds the key levers of power in a nominally secular state, and all in the interest of an autocrat from a neighbouring state, who thus demonstrates how easily he can influence Montenegro,” said Uljarević.
In reference to Montenegro, she also stated that leadership positions cannot be measured only through technical criteria but through the incorporation of European values genuinely lived by society.
The Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo, Sead Turčalo, believes that the region is exposed to the “danger of simplicity” because of nationalists and populists who offer overly simple answers to highly complex questions. “Those simple answers create cracks in democracy, because they eliminate everything they consider unnecessary, and pluralism of opinion is unnecessary to them,” stated Turčalo.
He pointed out that simplicity leads to exclusivity, reminding that it was precisely the ideologies of exclusivity that created wars and war crimes in this area.
“Our task would not be to fill those cracks in democracy, but to look through them, see the light, establish dialogue and through dialogue nurture pluralism and seek solutions,” said Turčalo.
As he said, those who desire simplicity cannot respond to pluralism and dialogue, and “therefore those cracks should not be closed, but filled with dialogue.”
The Executive Director of ADD, Balša Božović, commented on the situation in Serbia and the tragedy in Novi Sad. “The inquiry commission formed by professors from the Belgrade and Novi Sad universities reviewed over 500,000 documents, investigated and determined that Vučić is personally responsible for that tragedy,” said Božović.
He recalled that Serbia has had a difficult decade – 13 years under the current regime of Aleksandar Vučić.
“This can be summed up in the European Commission Report that has just arrived – European integration has been halted entirely. Serbia is described as a point of instability, as a Russian partner in the Western Balkans and a state acting contrary to EU foreign and security policy,” said Božović.
He noted that the region has also experienced several grim decades with a bleak record of Greater Serbian policy and the continued attempts by some actors to establish a ‘Serbian World’ as an alternative to the Europeanisation of the region.
Quoting journalist Toma Marković, Božović said that “‘Ćacilend is Greater Serbia in miniature.’”
“Everything that this concept was supposed to represent in the 1990s and still represents, is there. There are members of the Special Operations Unit, responsible for war crimes and the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić in 2003, there is the head of the Zemun Clan, better known as the Škaljari Clan in Montenegro. In Ćacilend there are those accused of war crimes, rapists, criminals, thugs,” said Božović.
“That is the value that Vučić upholds in front of his office, trying to oppose citizens and to trap the region in an anti-European narrative. That is the alternative if you do not want the EU – that Ćacilend. That is why it is essentially important for Montenegro to join the EU, because that will help internal forces in Serbia to fight for the democratisation of the state,” stated Božović.
The Director of the FES Office for Montenegro, Serbia and the Office for North Macedonia, Peter Hurelbrink, said that over the years the regional plenum has become an important opportunity for the exchange of opinions on the most significant issues facing societies in the Western Balkans.
He thanked the partners – the CCE, ADD and Sarajevo’s FPN – for organising the plenum.
“I hope we will provide as many new insights, cooperation and results as possible,” said Hurelbrink.
MINA News Agency