Beyond Diplomacy: The Demarcation of Montenegrin-Ottoman Borders (1879–1881)

In the 19th century, several factors influenced the development of Montenegrin-Ottoman borders: European experts’ stereotypes and limited knowledge of the Balkans, the Great Powers’ interests, and local populations’ conceptions of their own territories and societies. This article considers how these factors interacted in the demarcation of Montenegrin-Ottoman borders between 1879 and 1881 by not only studying the profiles, statements and actions of regional ‘experts’ at the Congress of Berlin in 1878 but also of the delegates to the Commission for the Delimitation of Montenegro and of the members of the Albanian League. Through critical readings of documents produced by the delegates of ‘secondary’ powers, such as the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy, it argues that the effectiveness of the border-demarcation was undermined by the failure of the Delimitation Commission, the Great Powers’ misperceptions and lack of knowledge, which was shaped by poor expert advice, and finally, by the resistance of local populations.