Italy and Montenegro have cultivated a robust and multifaceted bilateral relationship since establishing diplomatic ties on 3 June 2006, following Italy's recognition of Montenegro's independence.Ramet, S. P. (2010). Serbia and Montenegro since 1989. Central and Southeast European Politics since 1989, 311–327. Link This partnership spans political, economic, defense, and cultural domains, underpinned by shared membership in international organizations such as NATO, the Council of Europe, and the Union for the Mediterranean. Despite partnerships in various sectors, contrasting relations between the two countries have also been highlighted.
Historical background Italy–Montenegro relations can be described through three different periods that the relationship went through. During the medieval period, the Venetian Republic exercised control of the Adriatic.Fusaro, M. (2016). Venetian Empire. The Encyclopedia of Empire, 1–11. From the 15th century to the 18th century, coastal cities like Kotor, Budva, and the port town of Bar were under Venetian occupation.Elezović, D. M. (2015). The consequences of the Venetian-Turkish wars in the 16th century in the southern Adriatic. International scientific journal, (3), 49–50. This period allowed for cultural exchange, including architectural, legal, and artistic influences. Montenegro's Adriatic coast bears the influence of Venetian architecture, governance systems, and maritime trade. The second phase is about Italy's role in the Balkan region during the 19th century and early 20th century. Montenegro's strategic location drew the interest of Italy during the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) as it sought to expand its influence in the region. During World War I, Montenegro was allied with Italy,Becherelli, A. (2016). Montenegro Betrayed: The Yugoslav Unification and the Controversial Inter-Allied Occupation. Balkan Studies, 51, 69–104. but tensions arose after the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later referred to as Yugoslavia). Italy's foreign policy toward Montenegro became part of its broader diplomatic strategy towards Yugoslavia, creating friction. Montenegro's sovereignty has undergone many transformations over the past century. Once an independent kingdom recognized in 1878, it lost its autonomy in 1918 when it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.Rastoder, Š. (2003). A short review of the history of Montenegro. In F. Bieber (Ed.), Montenegro in transition: Problems of identity and statehood, 107–138. Despite being one of the six republics in socialist Yugoslavia, Montenegro’s foreign policy was controlled by the federal government. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, it remained in a union with Serbia until 2006.Uvalic, M. (2013). Why has Serbia not been a frontrunner?. In Handbook of the economics and political economy of transition, 365–375.
After the Tripartite Pact of September 1940, Italy occupied Montenegro from 1941 to 1943 as part of its fascist expansionist ambitions under Benito Mussolini.Labanca, N. (2015). The Italian wars. The Oxford Illustrated History of World War II, 74–109. The occupation faced widespread resistance from Montenegrin partisans. Following Italy's surrender in 1943, German forces took over until the end of the war. After World War II, Italy shifted from aggression to diplomacy, especially during the Cold War.Nuti, L. (2011). Italian foreign policy in the Cold War: A constant search for status. In M. Carbone (Ed.), Italy in the Post-Cold War Order, 25–45. Diplomatic relations were established on the intergovernmental level after Montenegro's independence from Yugoslavia in 2006.Doderović, M., & Premović, M. (2018). Montenegro in the geopolitical context of the Balkans. Journal of Ottoman Legacy Studies, 5(11), 183–192. Modern bilateral relations encompass various agreements in areas such as legal, economic, and political cooperation, continuing to evolve to this day.
Diplomatic relations and agreements Diplomatic relations between Italy and Montenegro were fully established in Italy's acknowledgment of Montenegro's independence. After Montenegro's independence referendum of 2006, Montenegro's relationship strengthened with Italy, and Italy became a key partner in international organizations and the international political scene, along with becoming an important factor for achieving Montenegro's foreign policy goals, as well as for its internal development.Doderović, M., & Premović, M. (2018). Montenegro in the Geopolitical Context of the Balkans. Journal of Ottoman Legacy Studies, 5(11), 183–192. Italy has supported Montenegro's administrative and capital legal reforms that are critical to membership, helping Montenegro's accession to the European Union. One of them is Italian support for judicial and economic reforms in Montenegro. Thus, Montenegro eventually accepted the NATO invitation and became an official member in 2017.Stefanini, S. (2018). A Step toward Regional Stability: Montenegro Joins NATO. IEMed: Mediterranean yearbook, (2018), 199–201. Italian military cooperation with Montenegro includes joint military exercise programs, training initiatives, and intelligence-sharing agreements. Relations are broadly positive, and there have been flare-ups over trade policies and maritime boundaries.
Economic and trade relations Italy is one of Montenegro's key trading partners, where the Italian regions of Molise and Montenegro have considerable affinity and use the cooperation to renew their economy through, for example, cross-border cooperation to modernize the agricultural sector and strengthen tourism.Sarno, E. (2017). Cross-border Inter-Adriatic Cooperation: A Case Study. Eastern European Countryside, 23, 103–117. Economic ties also include energy resources, trade, tourism, and infrastructure development.Jaćimović, D., Ivanović, M., & Rogić, S. (2021). FDI in Montenegro. Foreign Direct Investment in the Successor States of Yugoslavia: A Comparative Economic Geography 25 Years Later, 167–194. This cooperation is visible in energy. Italian companies have invested in Montenegro's energy sector, from hydroelectric plants to wind-power projects. Italy has pledged to invest in renewable energy projects and also partner with Montenegrin companies to implement renewable energy targets. Italian energy companies, including Enel, settled in Montenegro to expand electricity exports to the European market. Another area of economic interaction is tourism. Montenegro's Adriatic seacoast is a preferred location among Italian tourists,Trono, A. (2022). Geography, Cultural Heritage and Tourism of the Adriatic-Ionian regions. Sustainable Tourism and Cultural Routes in the Ionian and Adriatic Regions, 97. and other tourism-related investments from Italy have helped develop Montenegro's hospitality sector. Italian investment in Montenegro's tourism and its economic benefits are a result of these interactions. Economic relations also involve critical infrastructure development. Italian construction and engineering firms have worked on Montenegro's major projects, including the construction of road networks and port expansions, where local talent must be absorbed.
Cultural and educational dependence The historical and cultural affiliations between Italy and Montenegro have led to their long-established cultural diffusion, the spread of cultural traits, like language, art, or customs, from one group to another through contact and interaction.Alberti, L., & Di Palma, B. (2020). From Italy to Montenegro: cultural contaminations and discipline exchanges for the enhancement of the Roman town of Doclea. In World Heritage and Contamination. Le Vie dei Mercanti XVIII International Forum (pp. 363–372). Gangemi Editore. The cultural heritage of a country links into the heart of a community, breathes the essence of a new life and reality amidst the histories and memories present throughout the centuries and millennia.Alberti, L., & Di Palma, B. (2020). From Italy to Montenegro: cultural contaminations and discipline exchanges for the enhancement of the Roman town of Doclea. In World Heritage and Contamination. Le Vie dei Mercanti XVIII International Forum (pp. 363–372). Gangemi Editore.
Intervening in the cultural heritage of another country often risks the adaptation of a colonialist perspective towards the cultural heritage. However, the strong relationship witnessed between Italy and Montenegro has been strengthened further by this project, Doclea. There has been a cross-fertilization of potencies identified in the continuous exchanges between Italian researchers and Montenegrin researchers (refer to image 1). This collaboration has positively resulted in work on site, joint participation in international conferences, promoting projects to the general public, and others. International exchanges of knowledge and enhancement in cultural heritage are identified. Cultural relations have been worked through linguistic exchanges as well.Garwood, S. (2017). Cross-Cultural Exchange in the Post-Medieval Adriatic: An examination of glass artefacts from the 15th through mid-18th centuries. University of Sheffield. Link Montenegrin dialect on the coast has somewhat absorbed Italian, and the number of Italian loanwords reflects this proximity. Montenegro's agreements with Italy have included educational cooperation between the two countries, such as in the domain of student false brotherhoods between Italian and Montenegrin universities. Montenegrin students can study in Italy through government scholarship programs. And how such programs help strengthen bilateral relations will be explored in this segment. The Italian Cultural Institute in Podgorica oversees the promotion and teaching of Montenegro's Italian language and culture.
Potential energy partnership The relationship between Italy and Montenegro can be identified through the lens of the potential energy framework. An electrical bridge was introduced for the first time between the Balkans and Europe. Terna was the longest undersea cable that enabled Italy to exercise power as a European and Mediterranean electricity transmission hub.Terna Driving Energy. (2020). Terna: new Italy-Montenegro interconnection infrastructure under way – Terna spa. Terna.it. Link The whole infrastructure was strategically planned in terms of power interconnection to link the two countries, Italy and Montenegro.