In this text, I will summarize the positions that I and my colleagues from Positive Montenegro have repeatedly expressed in public when it comes to NATO integration. In order for the arguments to be as precise as possible, and cleared of alternative ideological meanings and interpretations, I present the arguments explicitly in the numbered key theses listed below.
1. By all quantitative standards, Montenegro is a small country and is unable to guarantee the safety of its citizens in high-tech conditions. Quite simply, we are unable to have and develop an army capable of protecting the territorial integrity of Montenegro. We don't have enough people, money, or technology for such a thing, and I doubt that anyone can argue against this. However, what is presented as an argument for this thesis is that Montenegro is unimportant precisely because it is small, and therefore has no reason to join NATO.
As an example, some other small countries (Malta, for example) that are not members of NATO are given here. It is interesting that Iceland and Luxembourg, which are members of NATO, are not mentioned. I argue that the geo-strategic position of Montenegro, as well as the history of our country's relations with Russia, are of such importance that regardless of the fact that Montenegro is a small country, it must and should take care of its security, and we have concluded that this security is not we can provide for ourselves. The second argument against rests on the thesis that in the past we were small but we always defended ourselves heroically, it cannot be accepted, because this is not the past but the second decade of the XXI century.
In ancient times, courage, bravery and heroism (therefore, the human factor) were crucial in war. This is not the case today. Today's threats appear in the form of high technology that we can never dispose of with the capacities we have.
2. Montenegro aspires, with historical right, to become an integral part of the family of Western democracies. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, all Eastern European countries opted for the western path. If such a strategic decision has been made, then a strategic policy must be conducted in that direction. We cannot only nominally advocate for modern democratic values, and in practice accept particular alliances that suit us and/or reject everything that integration into a democratic global community implies. So, here we are talking about the civilizational values that we have decided for, which is modern democracy modeled on the West. NATO is an organization that is a politically integral part of that milieu. Just look at the list of countries that are members of NATO and say, wouldn't you like Montenegro to be like them? I am convinced that the vast majority of Montenegrin citizens see a role model in those countries. It's simple: if these much more powerful countries are NATO members based on democratic values, why shouldn't Montenegro be?
3. If you look at all relevant indicators such as GDP, HDI, GEI, relevant World Bank Indexes that measure the rule of law, the state of democracy, the efficiency of institutions, the level of corruption, etc., you will see that NATO countries are superior to those that are not members of this alliance. So, it is clear, without looking for reasons (which we can certainly talk about), that NATO countries have a stronger economy, a better standard of living, stronger institutions, a more developed democracy, and a generally better quality of life. We want Montenegro to be improved in all these aspects. NATO is a military-political framework that facilitates this. Therefore, I am telling all opponents of NATO who are fighting for the improvement of democracy, economy and the rule of law, that if they are sincere in advocating for these principles, they should support membership in NATO, which will certainly help us in this regard.
4. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, not a single Eastern European country became a member of the EU without also becoming a member of NATO. NOT ONE! How can anyone think that the EU will accept us into its ranks without first becoming a member of NATO? Why would anyone make an exception for Montenegro? Why does anyone think that we are so special and that an exception will be made for us? It's simple: if we want to join the EU, we must first become a member of NATO. This is the natural path of all former communist regimes. And this is not by chance. This is because NATO guarantees that political, strategic and security standards will be respected after joining the EU. The argument that there are countries that are in the EU and not in NATO is simply rejected, precisely because those countries do not have an authoritarian communist heritage. Therefore, those countries do not need the guarantees that are needed for countries that have been trapped by a communist and authoritarian political system for decades.
However, it is unacceptable that someone advocates for the EU and does not want to join NATO. In that case, the support for the EU is not sincere, but the result of pure populism.
5. If we are not going to join NATO, where are we going and what are we going to do then? The first answer is nowhere, and it is unacceptable because, for the reasons stated under 1, it is not possible. The world today is moving towards strengthening blocs and alliances, and we have to decide strategically and wisely on whose side we are. So we have to go SOMEWHERE. We ask the question, if it is not NATO, then where? With who? Do we share political values with Russia and China or with the West? We at Pozitivna are convinced that the commitment to the West is the best strategic solution for Montenegro. Therefore, let the opponents of NATO integration, or those who stand for neutrality (in practice, they are one and the same), come out nicely and say, which alliance will we join if we don't join NATO? Then our arguments FOR NATO will be much stronger and more obvious.
6. The argument that only we, the Slavic people, have traditionally good relations with Russia is historically incorrect. First, the Poles are also a Slavic nation, so in the past they often suffered from Russia and today this country is a member of NATO, as are Bulgarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenes, Croats and other Slavs. To be honest, close ties with Russia have been achieved in history, and I am not accusing anyone of this, just because we were a weapon of a great country in achieving their foreign policy goals. We are not condemning Russia by this, we are just stating that this respected and great world power in foreign policy has always acted in accordance with its interests, as do other conscious powers, and not because there is an extraordinary love between Russia and Montenegro.
7. We must reject the argument that NATO bombed Montenegro for one essential reason. Namely, at that time, Montenegro was in union with Serbia, namely Serbia where the regime of Slobodan Milošević was in power and was condemned by both the domestic and the international community. Therefore, nobody bombed Montenegro because of NATO's relationship with Montenegro, but we suffered damage, which was in some cases, unfortunately, tragic, because we were in an alliance with the undemocratic and authoritarian regime that was ruling at that time in Serbia. Finally, these days we have witnessed the sincere regret due to the bombing that was expressed by the Secretary General of NATO.
Darko Pajović, president of Positive Montenegro
Bonus video:
