Marina Došen: Countering nationalist narratives in the Western Balkan region

Marina Došen from Nikšić, Montenegro.

A short interview with the Balkan Forum. Her views on countering nationalist narratives in the Western Balkan region: “Thanks for the interview invitation. We are at this year’s REACT camp, which is currently dealing with these topics, what we need most for the development of a democratic society, democratic Montenegro and the entire region. It seems to me that the facts are not in our favor to be a democratic society, both for Montenegro and the countries in the region.

We are definitely facing a brain drain, with young people going to different parts of Europe. As we go to democracy, we are a society that is quite underdeveloped, the border between freedom of speech and hate speech is quite unknown.

Unfortunately, young people are the most common victims of radical and extremist groups, which are often political groups. What is most pronounced in Montenegro is religious extremism. In the last two years, as the election cycles went on, young people have been actors and victims of radical groups many times.