A discourse analysis approach to the concept of the blue economy in Montenegro

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we analyse the concept of the blue economy, which is gaining popularity in the Montenegrin public discourse. We elicit the most dominant concepts prevalent in the relevant Montenegrin strategic documents and compare them to European practice to determine where Montenegro stands, given its current political, regional and international positions. We utilize critical discourse analysis to explain how the most dominant concepts of the blue economy somewhat reflect the position of the Montenegrin state along its path between EU accession, economic revival and its political past as a substantial drawback. By researching the complex theoretical aspects of the blue economy in literature, we apply discourse theory in the analysis of the ‘Montenegrin narrative’ to examine how discourse analysis reveals the specificities of Montenegro as far as its path towards the blue economy is concerned.

KEYWORDS:

• Blue economy
• critical discourse analysis
• Montenegro
• EU

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Thus, the frequency of the word ‘development’ in the Montenegrin corpus, which occurs 4,811 times, is $\frac{4811\cdot 1000}{472857}\approx$ 10.17. Likewise, the normalized frequency of the word ‘development ‘in the European corpus, which occurs 293 times, is $\frac{293\cdot 1000}{149872}\approx$ 1.95.

2. After political power changed hands in Montenegro on 30 August 2020 and a new government was established, Montenegrin society is still described as deeply polarized, and the pre-accession EU process may be compromised. The new government formed after the 2020 parliamentary elections teeters on the brink, as the parties that acted in unity to dethrone the 30-year-long government led by the Democratic Party of Socialists (and its prominent political leader Milo Đukanović) are in a collision over religious and political issues. We mention here religious issues, as the Serbian Orthodox Church supported a party that rose up against the then government, which had implemented the Law on Religious Rights that sought to limit the property of the Church. Hence, there is a widespread assumption in political and diplomatic circles that it was the Church that won the election in Montenegro. However, post-election Montenegro is still affected by divisions and diverse attitudes towards the influence of the Church’s meddling in secular affairs, aware that Montenegro has chosen a European path. As a result, the new government, after a year of governance, faced a no-confidence vote in parliament on 4 February 2022 and Montenegro may be heading towards a new general election.

3. A statement by Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for the Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, about the approaches to the blue economy in the EU, ‘Thus to be truly green, we must also think blue’ (European Commission, Press Release 17 May 2021), https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/speech_21_2524/SPEECH_21_2524_EN.pdf.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Milena Dževerdanović Pejović

MilenaDževerdanović Pejović is an Associate professor at the Faculty of Maritime Studies Kotor, University of Montenegro. She has published papers on maritime discourse, English for Specific Purposes, genre analysis, political discourse, intercultural communication and gendered discourse.