Geography, Climate, Natural Resources, History, and Political Environment of Montenegro

Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Code/Title
Instructor
Date
Foreign Country Overview: Montenegro
Geographic location, climate, and natural resources
Montenegro is located in the Southeastern part of Europe between Serbia and the Adriatic Sea. The country’s geographic coordinates are 42 30 N, and 19 19 E (CIA.gov). the country is 13,812 sq. km with a land cover of 13,452 sq. km and about 360 sq. km is covered by water. Montenegro enjoys a Mediterranean climate with frequent hot dry summers and autumns and moderately cold winters characterized by heavy snowfalls inland. Its major natural resource is bauxite and the country has invested heavily in hydroelectricity (CIA.gov). Besides these natural resources, Montenegro is also active in other activities such as farming.
Capital of the country and country’s political environment
Podgorica is the administrative capital of the Republic of Montenegro and Milo Djukanovic is the current president of the country after being sworn in in May 2018 following his 2018 presidential election victory. Djukanovic continues to dominate politics in the country for over a quarter of a century has served as the prime minister six times and a president between 1997 and 2002. At age 29, he was the youngest European prime minister in 1991 when he first assumed the position having been mentored by Slobodan Milosevic, a Serbian war criminal and politician. Under the leadership of Djukanovic, the country took part in the war in Bosnia and Dubrovnik although Djukanovic had isolated himself from Milosevic in 1997 (BBC News). Montenegro has a parliamentary democracy where power settles under the executive, legislative, and judiciary. The legislative is the Parliament while the executive branch is the Government. Following its declaration of independence in 2006, the country held its first parliamentary elections in the same year. Since then, there have been four parliamentary elections in Montenegro (European Commission). On October 22, 2007, the country adopted its constitution which was effected on the same day. The Prime Minister of the country is a member of the Democratic Party of Socialists with the Government comprising of ministers who are members of the party as well as other parties such as the Democratic Union of Albanians, Croatian Civil Initiative, Bosniak Party, and the Social Democrats. In April 2018, Djukanovic who is the party leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists won the presidential elections and the next elections will be conducted in 2023.
* Historical background (how the country came to exist)
The phrase “Crna Gora” or simply, “Black Mountain” (Montenegro) gained widespread use in the 13th century to refer to a highland region located in the Serbian province of Zeta (CIA.gov). Until 1496, the medieval state of Zeta retained this name until Montenegro fell under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. In the coming centuries, the country maintained its autonomy within the Empire, and from the 16th to 19th centuries, it because a theocracy that was ruled by several bishop princes until 1852 when it was later transformed into a secular principality. The country as became an autonomous and sovereign country at the Congress of Berli...