The development of an interest group system in a constrained democracy: Montenegro

• Author: Olivera Komar
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1722
• Date: 01 May 2019
• Published date: 01 May 2019

SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER

The development of an interest group system in a constrained

democracy: Montenegro

Olivera Komar

University of Montenegro, Podgorica,

Montenegro

Correspondence

Olivera Komar, University of Montenegro,

Podgorica, Montenegro.

Email: oliverak@ac.me

This article is the first comprehensive examination of Montenegro's interest group

system. This system is a product of a combination of traditional influences and recent

developments. The major traditional influences are a closed, patriarchal society with

strong family and kinship relations, and a nonparticipatory political culture. These

combined with over a quarter century of dominance by the ex‐communist party have

been major impediments to the growth of interest group activity. Despite this, signif-

icant developments have occurred in the establishment of new interests and their

activities, much of this made possible by the strong presence of various elements of

the international community. Nevertheless, Montenegro has a bifurcated interest

group system in which a small elite dominates interest group activity, while, for the

most part, the mass of society do not participate in political advocacy.

1|INTRODUCTION

The Montenegrin experience is a classic case of the problems and

challenges faced by many communist countries transitioning from

authoritarianism to pluralism. These problems and challenges have

affected the development of the country's interest group system by

retarding its development. As a consequence, although there are

rudiments of a public affairs profession, as yet no recognizable public

affairs industry has evolved in Montenegro.

In part, to explain this absence, this article examines the develop-

ment and present operation of Montenegro's interests, the interest

groups, and the group system as shaped by the past and present polit-

ical environment. Although we examine the relationship between

interest groups and democracy, we place the role of interest groups

in the context of Montenegro's broader political development. Focus-

ing solely on interest groups as being shaped or undermined by

Montenegro's democracy tells only part of the interest group story.

We begin by reviewing the current status of the study of interest

groups in Montenegro and the approach used in this article. Then

comes background for understanding interest group activity in

Montenegro. This is followed by the practical dimensions of interest

operations. Next are two case studies to illustrate the role of labour

in public policymaking. Then we examine what role interest groups

have played in advancing the country's “majoritarian”democratic

system. The article concludes by considering directions for further

research.

2|INTEREST GROUP STUDIES IN

MONTENEGRO AND SOURCES FOR THIS

ARTICLE

Judgingby the absence of a comprehensivetreatment of interest groups

in Montenegroand any original research on them, a logicalconclusion is

that they have not been a major aspect in thetransition to democracy.

Groups and interests are most often treatedas part of broader research

on the transition. Even then, advocacy groups receive only cursory

coverage in contemporary literature. This is mostlikely because interest

groupsare often viewed as underminingthe developmentof democracy.

As a consequence, although some information can be gleaned

from related sources, such as work on political parties and the elec-

toral process, the main source used in this article is original research.

This includes a recent comparative study on lobbying in Macedonia,

Montenegro, and Serbia, conducted by Cekik (2015). There is also a

study (explained in the introductory article in this volume, section 4)

of the development of civil society in the Balkans that includes

Montenegro (Fink‐Hafner, 2015; Komar, 2015).

There are also general studies focusing on the development of

the NGO (non‐governmental organization) sector and its current

status (CRNVO and IPSOS, 2012; Muk, Uljarević, & Brajović, 2006).

However, focusing only on NGOs or civil society at large does not

capture the complete picture of interest and interest group activity.

This fails to include prominent formal and informal interests and inter-

est groups that are often key influences on political decision making.

DOI: 10.1002/pa.1722

J Public Affairs. 2019;19:e1722.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1722

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa 1of13