Montenegrins are voting today on their nationhood

until i started traveling and working in the balkans, i had no real clue as to just how fiercely the former yugoslav republics valued their independence and how deep are the ethnic divides that separate them... sure, i had followed bosnia and kosovo, but following from the u.s. is a far cry from being here and seeing things first-hand... however, i have to confess mixed feelings...

as much as i support peoples' right to their ethnic and national heritage, i also see how the proliferation of national infrastructures and attempts to establish viable national economies without any corresponding economies of scale are inhibiting real development, prosperity and progress...

regional cooperation is obviously the answer, but the likelihood of that working to any appreciable degree is not good, witness mercosur and other such well-intentioned arrangements... nonetheless, i hope the final count shows that montenegro will henceforth be standing on its own...

The tiny Balkan republic of Montenegro is voting on whether to split from Serbia, in what could herald the final dissolution of the former Yugoslavia.

The independence referendum is asking Montenegrins whether they want to end their union with Serbia set up in 2002.

[...]

Serbian officials and church leaders, as well as anti-independence Montenegrins, have urged voters to reject independence, invoking the strong cultural, economic and family ties between the two republics.

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