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Helen Human

Montenegro 2009

This summer, thanks to CREEES, I was able to spend a month in Montenegro conducting preliminary dissertation fieldwork.  My dissertation project seeks to explain how key sources of influence beyond the state including, for example, trans-national non-governmental organizations, foreign developers and local political leaders, business elites and developers interested in European Union accession influence the management of cultural heritage in Montenegro.  In the early 1990s, Montenegrin leadership selected tourism as the top priority in the development of the economy and recognized the economic value of the past in the present.  The current state of development in parts of Montenegro, particularly the highlands, is on the verge of major investment; in contrast, the coastal areas are in a state of emergency.  Development is moving at a pace that threatens to destroy the very landscapes – urban, rural, cultural and natural – that make this area a boon for investment.  Prior to this summer I had written a paper on development and the contradictory effects of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in the Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor, in Montenegro – I had never actually been to Montenegro however.

This summer CREEES provided me with the opportunity to travel and get acquainted with Montenegro’s heritage sites and museums.  In the month I spent in the country I visited several of Montenegro’s key archaeological sites, numerous museums, often housed in historically significant buildings, as well as a plethora of religious heritage sites, including monasteries and churches.  Without visiting these sites I would not have been able to continue my research on the management of cultural heritage in Montenegro.  Traveling to these places allowed me the opportunity to observe firsthand the role that cultural heritage is playing in the development of the region and how that development is threatening heritage sites in the country as well.  While key stakeholders like UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and the U.S. State Department consider cultural heritage management to be central to regional stability, the conversations I had while traveling helped me to better understand the priorities of local populations.  Along the coast, tangible cultural heritage is widely utilized to attract tourism and is regarded as closely linked to community and economic development.  Montenegrin’s see the cultural and natural heritage of their country’s coast attracting funds from Russia and Canada for intensive development.  While locals recognize that this development is occurring rapidly, it is not widely perceived as a threat to the cultural landscape.  Indeed, it is a select few who recognize the coast as a cultural landscape and are concerned about the long-term sustainability of coastal development.

This summer afforded me the opportunity to meet some of the various officials working to protect cultural heritage and plan for sustainable development in the region.  I made contacts at Montenegro’s Ministry of Culture, specifically at the Regional Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Kotor.  I conducted interviews with developers and with the directors of several NGO’s focused on protecting cultural and natural heritage through sustainable spatial development.  I met with officials from the U.S. Ambassador’s Fund and the U.S. Department of Justice involved with heritage preservation as well.  Through my conversations with these individuals, I began to learn about policymaking procedures in the region and to familiarize myself with the complex array of governmental and non-governmental groups responsible for cultural heritage management in Montenegro.

Having developed these key contacts in the region, I now have a firm foundation for my future dissertation research in the Montenegro.  Having already written about the Bay of Kotor, I found my visit there especially rewarding and have since developed many new and exciting ideas about how to proceed with my research there in the coming months.  Overall the month I spent in Montenegro was a wonderful introduction to a country that I will be living and working in for years to come.  I thank CREEES for their generous support.