By Erin Morton
I just returned from an 8-day trip to Macedonia and Montenegro to conduct research on those countries’ NATO ascension plans. While there, I had the opportunity to meet with and interview the Head of Policy and Planning for the Macedonian Ministry of Defense. It was a whirlwind trip that included visits to Croatia and Kosovo – in all, I visited four of the seven countries which comprise the former Yugoslavia. Although brief, my trip gave me the opportunity to experience the culture and history of the region while gaining insight into these NATO members’ policy-making processes.
Why did you choose this particular country/internship?
I have held an interest in the region for a long time, starting with my undergraduate concentration on the breakup of Yugoslavia. Macedonia and Montenegro prove unique case studies within the former Yugoslavia, as these two countries seceded relatively peacefully and avoided to a large degree the ethnic conflict which plagued many of their neighbors. However, Macedonia did through a brief civil war in 2001 between rebels from the ethnic Albanian minority and the government. While I was traveling through the former Yugoslavia, I could see for myself some of the effects of the violence and unrest of the recent past. During a drive, my Macedonian guide described to me how the highway we were driving on was used by tanks during the Macedonian civil war to move Macedonian troops to counter ethnic Albanian guerrilla attacks. As we drove down this highway, my guide pointed out the Albanian-majority towns which proudly fly double-headed eagle Albanian flags, a symbol which was banned until the civil war ended. In Croatia, a shop hit by Serbian bombs in 1991 had erected almost life-sized images of the bombed-out street on the walls of the shop that stands there today.
How did you come up with your project and why does it interest you?
When planning this research trip, I knew I wanted to study the impact of proposed NATO ascension for Macedonia and recent NATO ascension in Montenegro. I wanted to focus on how NATO membership affects these countries’ relationships with Russia. Both Montenegro and Macedonia have recently alleged that Russian intelligence has interfered with its democratic processes. Macedonia and Montenegro have made clear that their ascendency to NATO membership ties into a broader national strategy to align themselves with Europe and the West, away from Russia. With the future of NATO a pressing security policy topic in 2018, I am grateful for the opportunity provided by the summer grant to go to Macedonia and Montenegro for a first-hand look at the newest NATO members.
What are two interesting things about Macedonia and Montenegro that the average person doesn't know?
The previous Macedonian administration embarked on a revitalization program to make the capital, Skopje, a tourism hub for arts and culture. This program, called Skopje 2014, funded the construction of at least 136 statues, museums, and government buildings within Skopje. These public works projects are estimated to have cost over $700 million USD before the subsequent administration cancelled the program in February 2018. Many Macedonians objected to the skyrocketing costs and garish styling of the public works, with current prime minister Zoran Zaev labeling the program “an idiotic project”. However, some of Macedonia’s most recognizable landmarks, like the Archeological Museum and the Warrior on the Horse (Alexander the Great) Statue, were funded in part by the project. Whether the project is, as critics claim, a zealous exercise in Macedonian nationalism or a just a pricey attempt to remake Skopje into a world capital for arts and culture, the abrupt cancellation of the project left abandoned construction throughout downtown Skopje. The main square is imposing and grand, guarded by the Warrior on a Horse on one end and the Phillip the Macedon statue on the other, but is lined with abandoned half-constructed buildings on either side. The New York Times recently ran an article calling Skopje “the Capital of Kitsch”, and I can confirm the oddity of the sight of pirate ships docked in a shallow river… in a landlocked country!
Montenegro is currently experiencing a tourism boom, which is diversifying their usual tourist composition of Russians and Serbs. Montenegro has long been a holiday hotspot for Russians: almost everyone I encountered addressed me in Russian first, presuming I was Russian. However, Montenegro’s NATO ascension, along with relatively low prices and a pristine Adriatic coastline, has encouraged Western tourists to visit. There are concerns that the tiny medieval towns of Kotor and Perast, now major cruise line destinations, are not equipped for the infrastructure and environmental demands of being port stops for large cruise ships. Montenegro is not a large country, and the government will have to use their tourism income wisely in order to meet the demands of increasing volumes tourists while maintaining infrastructure for residents.
Why did you choose this particular country/internship?
I have held an interest in the region for a long time, starting with my undergraduate concentration on the breakup of Yugoslavia. Macedonia and Montenegro prove unique case studies within the former Yugoslavia, as these two countries seceded relatively peacefully and avoided to a large degree the ethnic conflict which plagued many of their neighbors. However, Macedonia did through a brief civil war in 2001 between rebels from the ethnic Albanian minority and the government. While I was traveling through the former Yugoslavia, I could see for myself some of the effects of the violence and unrest of the recent past. During a drive, my Macedonian guide described to me how the highway we were driving on was used by tanks during the Macedonian civil war to move Macedonian troops to counter ethnic Albanian guerrilla attacks. As we drove down this highway, my guide pointed out the Albanian-majority towns which proudly fly double-headed eagle Albanian flags, a symbol which was banned until the civil war ended. In Croatia, a shop hit by Serbian bombs in 1991 had erected almost life-sized images of the bombed-out street on the walls of the shop that stands there today.
How did you come up with your project and why does it interest you?
When planning this research trip, I knew I wanted to study the impact of proposed NATO ascension for Macedonia and recent NATO ascension in Montenegro. I wanted to focus on how NATO membership affects these countries’ relationships with Russia. Both Montenegro and Macedonia have recently alleged that Russian intelligence has interfered with its democratic processes. Macedonia and Montenegro have made clear that their ascendency to NATO membership ties into a broader national strategy to align themselves with Europe and the West, away from Russia. With the future of NATO a pressing security policy topic in 2018, I am grateful for the opportunity provided by the summer grant to go to Macedonia and Montenegro for a first-hand look at the newest NATO members.
What are two interesting things about Macedonia and Montenegro that the average person doesn't know?
The previous Macedonian administration embarked on a revitalization program to make the capital, Skopje, a tourism hub for arts and culture. This program, called Skopje 2014, funded the construction of at least 136 statues, museums, and government buildings within Skopje. These public works projects are estimated to have cost over $700 million USD before the subsequent administration cancelled the program in February 2018. Many Macedonians objected to the skyrocketing costs and garish styling of the public works, with current prime minister Zoran Zaev labeling the program “an idiotic project”. However, some of Macedonia’s most recognizable landmarks, like the Archeological Museum and the Warrior on the Horse (Alexander the Great) Statue, were funded in part by the project. Whether the project is, as critics claim, a zealous exercise in Macedonian nationalism or a just a pricey attempt to remake Skopje into a world capital for arts and culture, the abrupt cancellation of the project left abandoned construction throughout downtown Skopje. The main square is imposing and grand, guarded by the Warrior on a Horse on one end and the Phillip the Macedon statue on the other, but is lined with abandoned half-constructed buildings on either side. The New York Times recently ran an article calling Skopje “the Capital of Kitsch”, and I can confirm the oddity of the sight of pirate ships docked in a shallow river… in a landlocked country!
Montenegro is currently experiencing a tourism boom, which is diversifying their usual tourist composition of Russians and Serbs. Montenegro has long been a holiday hotspot for Russians: almost everyone I encountered addressed me in Russian first, presuming I was Russian. However, Montenegro’s NATO ascension, along with relatively low prices and a pristine Adriatic coastline, has encouraged Western tourists to visit. There are concerns that the tiny medieval towns of Kotor and Perast, now major cruise line destinations, are not equipped for the infrastructure and environmental demands of being port stops for large cruise ships. Montenegro is not a large country, and the government will have to use their tourism income wisely in order to meet the demands of increasing volumes tourists while maintaining infrastructure for residents.