Among all eleven countries covered by the study Under Pressure: Digital Security of Civil Society in the Western Balkans and the European Union, civil society organisations (CSOs) in Montenegro are the most likely to perceive digital threats as politically motivated, while also rating the institutional response among the weakest. The study is part of a regional project led by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), with the Centre for Civic Education (CCE) serving as the partner organisation in Montenegro.
Of the 33 representatives of Montenegrin civil society organisations who participated in the research, around 65% identified political actors as the main source of digital threats, the highest share recorded among all eleven participating countries.
At the same time, 61% of respondents believe that institutions respond to digital attacks only rarely and inconsistently, while 21% report that institutions do not respond at all, placing Montenegro immediately behind Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of the lack of institutional response in the region. In addition, around 65% assess the legal protection against digital threats as weak, making Montenegro the second worst-performing country in the study, behind only Poland.
The findings also show that civil society organisations in Montenegro are particularly vulnerable through the digital tools they use on a daily basis. Messaging applications were identified as the most vulnerable resource (42%), the highest proportion among all surveyed countries, while public protests were identified as the most common trigger for digital attacks (67%). Together with Serbia, Montenegro stands out as a country where digital pressure is particularly directed at civic activism.
The research also points to a significant lack of networking. More than 80% of respondents are not connected to any national, regional or international digital security network, representing the second largest gap identified in the study, after Poland. At the same time, organisations in Montenegro expressed the highest demand among all surveyed countries for digital security training (73%) and accessible digital forensic services (67%).
This combination of high exposure to digital threats, limited trust in institutions and legal protection, and insufficient access to support networks leaves civil society organisations in Montenegro among the most vulnerable in the region.
CCE notes that these findings are consistent with the broader picture presented in the European Commission’s latest Rule of Law Report for Montenegro. The chapter on civil society concludes that, despite the state’s formal commitments, significant challenges remain in legislative planning and in ensuring meaningful and inclusive public consultations. In other words, while the formal framework exists, its consistent implementation and inclusiveness continue to fall short in practice.
The digital security of civil society is not merely a technical issue, it is fundamentally a matter of democracy, the rule of law and the protection of fundamental freedoms. CCE therefore calls on the competent institutions to establish reliable mechanisms for reporting and responding effectively to digital attacks, strengthen legal protection, and provide greater support for networking between civil society organisations and their regional and international partners. Otherwise, the space for civil society action will become increasingly vulnerable, while digital attacks will continue to occur without an adequate institutional response.
Željka Zvicer, Programme Associate