ABSTRACT
This chapter presents Montenegro profiles of longstanding democracies and of the European Union, and provides essential detail on history, electoral system, political parties and cleavages, and governments. Independent from 1878 to 1918, Montenegro had become part of what would be Yugoslavia. After the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ended in 2003, Montenegro remained in a confederation with Serbia. Montenegro uses a closed party list proportional representation electoral system. The cleavage of national identity and the related issue of independence have structured party politics in Montenegro. The key initial party in the regard was the Socialist People’s Party of Montenegro (SNP), formed in 1997 and which sought to preserve the union with Serbia. In 2006 the Serb People’s Party was the core of the Serb list electoral alliance. In 2015, a centrist faction of the SNP split and formed Democratic Montenegro which would be electorally successful in 2016.
