From Demos to Ethnos: Popular Revolt and Elite Transformation in Montenegro's Anti-Bureaucratic Revolution (1988–1990)

Project Information

DEPRET

Grant agreement ID: 897686

DOI

10.3030/897686

Project closed

EC signature date 28 April 2020

Start date 1 September 2021

End date 14 September 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 191 852,16

EU contribution

€ 191 852,16

Coordinated by

GOETEBORGS UNIVERSITET
Sweden

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DEPRET (From Demos to Ethnos: Popular Revolt and Elite Transformation in Montenegro's Anti-Bureaucratic Revolution (1988–1990))

Reporting period: 2021-09-01 to 2023-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The project "From Demos to Ethnos: Popular Revolt and Elite Transformation in Montenegro’s Anti-Bureaucratic Revolution (1988–1990)" – acronym: DEPRET – examined the interaction between popular revolt and elite transformation before, during, and after the wave of mass protests in Montenegro that brought new elites to power in 1989. By analyzing the so-called Anti-Bureaucratic Revolution (ABR) as both a short-term event and a long-term process, the project focused on understanding the complex interplay of socio-political crisis, civil society, social movements, contentious politics, civic activism, postsocialist transformation, nation-building, far-right populism, (ethno)nationalism, conspiracy theories, and political polarization. The project, therefore, provided answers to the questions of how and why a once inclusive and tolerant society (socialist "demos") transformed into one based on a more exclusive and militant ethnic identity (nationalist "ethnos"). It placed emphasis on the development and dissemination of nationalist and populist ideas among elites and the general population, aiming to understand why and how these ideas were accepted and resisted by citizens. Moreover, it used the Montenegrin experience as a "context of discovery" to theorize empirical observations regarding the processes, practices, and relations that shaped (the development of) its civil society and contentious politics during the postsocialist transformation.

The project’s overall aim was to understand why and how civil society turns "uncivil". Its three specific objectives were: (1) to improve understanding of elite transformation through a critical interpretation of the elite's public discourse, with a particular focus on how they articulated, framed, and legitimized themselves and "the people" in the context of what they saw as the "necessary changes of the system"; (2) to identify, map, and analyze repertoires of contention and tactics of resistance used by protesting citizens in advancing or resisting populism, ethnonationalism, and right-wing radicalism, with a particular focus on demands/grievances, frames, and justifications they used to reconstitute themselves from a socialist "demos" into a nationalist "ethnos" or, conversely, to oppose this process; and (3) to contribute to theory development in order to understand to what extent the relationship between grassroots and elite expressions of right-wing populism – and the mechanisms of their emergence, growth, and spread – is a two-way process of elite–mass interaction during turbulent times.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

While conducting my archival research, I collected the following documents: (1) publications containing published memoirs, interviews, diaries, and other personal accounts of individuals involved in the ABR, as well as published collections of journalists' and other first-hand observers' reports of the ABR; (2) publicly available statistics, transcripts, police reports, declassified secret service records, and other documentary materials; and the ABR-relevant bi-weekly/monthly issues of magazines published before, during, and after the ABR that provided a platform for various voices, including political elites ("Komunist"), cultural elites ("Ovdje"), intellectual elites ("Univerzitetska riječ"), student/youth activists ("Omladinski pokret"), and labor activists and union leaders (relevant factory bulletins). Furthermore, I identified all the articles covering protest events from 1988 to 1990 in Montenegro’s sole daily newspaper at the time – "Pobjeda".

I successfully disseminated my findings, analyses, and ideas at multiple conferences, workshops, expert panels, and other gatherings, reaching diverse audiences and stakeholders, including scholars, civil society activists, policymakers, journalists, students, foreign donors, and regional and international non-governmental organizations. During my MSCA individual fellowship, I actively participated in 6 academic conferences and 8 professional workshops, attended 3 high-level meetings, delivered 2 guest lectures, organized 1 workshop, and made numerous appearances in mainstream media. These events significantly improved my dissemination efforts, expanded my networking opportunities, and had a lasting impact on both academia and society.

During the course of my fellowship, I submitted 3 articles to leading academic journals. I also drafted 4 more articles, set for submission during the 2023/24 academic year. Additionally, I authored 2 policy papers and co-edited a proposal for a journal special issue. After publication, these papers will be reworked into a book manuscript for submission to an international academic press.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The DEPRET project allowed me to approach the object of my study using an innovative interdisciplinary, critically oriented, and mixed-methods approach. This approach provided room for both refined empirical comprehension and nuanced theoretical innovation. Overall, the academic importance and societal impact of the project can be summarized as follows:

1) Creating a refined theoretical framework and conceptual apparatus for capturing the empirical reality of (the interactions between) elite transformation and popular revolt during structural crises.
2) Complementing the scholarly work on Central and Eastern Europe, this study incorporates empirical material from Southeast Europe, specifically focusing on Montenegro and providing a unique dataset.
3) Shifting from a normative approach to civil society ("what it should be") to focus on the empirical reality of civil society ("what it actually is") in order to generate insights relevant beyond the region.
4) Expanding the study of popular protest beyond highly visible social movements in metropolitan areas to include diverse forms of contentious politics and everyday resistance at the national level, with a diachronic focus on the interactions between elites and protesting citizens.
5) Integrating diverse methodological approaches and interdisciplinary conceptual frameworks to create a unique theoretical lens.
6) Developing policy solutions based on my findings and analyses.

The exploitation of research results will continue in the upcoming year.

DEPRET Workshop Agenda (8 September 2023)