Gender as Collateral: The Case of Montenegro

Anti-gender mobilization in Montenegro, for the time being, does not represent an independent or new phenomenon, primarily focused on gender issues or the perceived threats of ‘gender ideology’, that could challenge the country’s achieved level of gender equality. While there are initiatives that can be characterized as anti-gender, this form of social mobilization is perhaps more aptly classified as ‘proto-anti-gender’ at this stage, given the absence of publicly recognized new organizations dedicated to anti-gender campaigns. The few anti-gender initiatives that do exist primarily originate from traditional actors of the nationalist religious right. Even then, gender issues are not consistently their priority. The right-wing actions are influenced Kuhar and Paternotte ( 2017 ) strongly by Serbian and, indirectly, Russian influences, predominantly channelled through the involvement of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) in the Montenegrin public sphere. The SPC is a powerful institution that enjoys great trust among citizens(CGO, 2021 ), and some authors recognize it as a ‘key proxy of Russian activities’ (DFC, 2022 ).