Feminist discourses in neoliberal

kaleidoscope: the case of Montenegro

Predrag ZENOVIC, PhD
University of Donja Gorica, Montenegro

Introduction

Feminism has never developed in the public sphere of Montenegro as a

comprehensive discourse and a fully-fledged political ideology. Although feminist discourses
regarding women rights and gender equality have been articulated in the form of policy
papers, governmental and NGO agendas and policies, they attracted almost no theoretical
attention. Simultaneously, organizations dealing with women rights and participation
endorse forms of women empowerment that focus on private sector initiatives, corporate
success and individuality as the ideological essence of neoliberal paradigm. Furthermore, the
women from transitional and developing countries, similarly like women of color in their
particular socio-cultural context, have questioned the hegemony of Western cultural
feminism and feminism as a label is often problematized by women in Montenegro
(Petricevic, 2018).

The socialist ideology present in former Yugoslav state (1945-1997) was

undoubtedly in favor of women rights emancipation and it brought a significant change in
the status of women (voting rights, working rights) in the then patriarchal Montenegrin
society. “Given the ruling ideology (Marxism), they have granted women political rights and
more importantly offered access to free education and, equally importantly, an incentive to
enter the labor market” (Women rights…, 2019, 3). Gender justice equilibrium did not
remain the same after the breakdown of the common federal state; thenceforth, its meaning
and normative connotation have significantly changed. Socialism put gender equality as one
of the cornerstone principles of its ideology and political programs. During the socialist era,
the economic and social structure of post-Yugoslav societies underwent significant changes.

The transitional shift to market economy – that encompassed privatization, legal and
constitutional changes as well as the change in the social structure of ex-Yugoslav states –
has also altered the core normative content of the idea of justice, including gender justice.
Post conflict and post-socialist transition brought along retraditionalization and
repatriarchalisation (Petricevic, ibid) of Montenegrin society in a form of neopatriarchy
(Sharabi, 1988). Neoliberalism, with private property, individualism and entrepreneurship

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as its core values, arose as a new philosophical paradigm propagated by political and social
elites and adopted by feminists too (Fraser, 2009). This normative matrix became dominant
in the feminist discourses and the practice of women rights organizations in Montenegro.

Research problem

Progressive change and modernization of Montenegrin society has not been followed
by the true emancipation of women and their position in the society. Indicators like gender-
based violence, political participation and decision-making, lack of gender mainstreaming,
gender stereotyping and discrimination in the labor market show the severity of this
discrepancy and call for the new normative feminist standpoints.

Besides, neoliberal claims, though stressing the importance of emancipation, often

overlook, or even ignore, redistribution claims. Redistribution, as a prevailing grounding of
justice claims during socialist times, rights have significantly lost their place in the feminist
discourse. Most of the organizations dealing with women rights stress the importance of
entrepreneurship, private initiative and corporate success as the goals of women fight for
equality.

Solidarity and redistribution and cornerstone of socialist feminist paradigm and

made a significant part in women’s fight for gender equality. Transitional change of
Montenegrin society has opened a gap between women who remained in the
socialist/patriarchal societal role and those who benefit from modernization and
marketization in Montenegro. There is no comprehensive feminist stance that could grasp
this discrepancy and evaluate its repercussions for the gender equality politics in
Montenegro.

Research questions

The research is focused on answering several questions. First, how does neoliberal
discourse relate to feminist claims in the context of a post-patriarchal society? Has the
discourse of progressive neoliberalism influenced the feminist discourse in Montenegro?

What did progressive neoliberalism bring to the advancement of women in

Montenegro? How do redistribution justice and gender justice relate in the context of
transitional neoliberal society? Is feminist discourse in Montenegro capable of addressing
anti-egalitarian consequences of neoliberal progressivism while still preserving its
emancipatory potential? Do other forms of feminist discourse and perspectives (queer, post-
feminist) relate to this dichotomy?

Finally, how can intersectionality, as one of the keystone methodological approaches

in understanding inequality, help us understand gender issues in a multicultural society?

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 The main hypothesis and theoretical framework

The main hypothesis of the research is based on the assumption that the period of
economic transition did not only bring a positive change to the status of women in the
Montenegrin society. I plan to explore whether the transitional retraditionalization of
Montenegrin society coupled with the advent of the neoliberal background philosophy that
accompanied its economic change had an adverse normative impact on the feminist theory
and social impact on gender justice polices. Neoliberal paradigm changed the nature of
feminist discourse in Montenegro disregarding distribution claims as a significant part of its
content.

The research starts with the critique of merge of feminism and progressive
neoliberalism in contemporary political theory and practice. Nancy Fraser argues that some
forms of second-wave feminism offered a critique of four aspects of state-based capitalism:
its “economism,” “androcentrism,” “etatism,” and “Westphalianism.” i.e. challenging the
economism of state-based capitalism (Fraser 2009, 106). New forms of feminism, however,
are intensely entangled with the normative baggage of neoliberal paradigm.

The goal of the research is to theorize the relation between gender and inequality in
a particular post-patriarchal post-transitional society like Montenegrin and create space for
further research and discussion, ideally with implications for social and policy change for
women in Montenegro.

The redistribution/class dimension of feminist theory and practice is absent in the

new feminist discourse. Blanka Nyklová outlines how neoliberal ideology and conservative
attitudes shape gender and social inequality in Central Europe, with a focus on the Czech
Republic (Nyklova, 2019). In her work uses the notion of distorted emancipation to highlight
privileges accrued by some women at the expense of others.

The relation between patriarchal societies and the emancipatory effect of capitalism
is examined by Lina Abirafeh in her article “Gender and Inequality in the Arab Region”
(Abirahef, 2019). The toxic combination of economic and political insecurities, compounded
by a system of deep-rooted patriarchy reverses the path towards gender equality.

Nicola Piper’s discusses the relation between gender labor and inequality in the Asian
context and deals, in particular, with female migrants who are concentrated in feminized
sectors and often lack basic rights and protections. All of these perspectives and notions
should be critically reassessed within Montenegrin context.

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 The scope and methodology of the research

This research is aimed at determining normative sources and impacts of feminist

discourses that emerge from the practice of non-governmental organizations dealing with
women rights, women organizations, including other forms of activism (three children
mothers protests e.g.) focused on gender equality. It is comprised of two parts: theoretical
and practical.

The theoretical part of the research entails engagement with the broad literature on
contemporary feminism and its relation to progressive neoliberalism and should produce a
body of relevant and critical literature review. The main task of this part is to develop a
theoretical framework that shall conceptualize the study of Montenegrin feminist discourse
within a broader context of contemporary feminist political theory and its principal debates.
Once the theoretical framework is set, discourse analysis taking into consideration media
texts contained in organization policies, projects, media texts etc. will be applied. This part
should also tackle the recognition redistribution dichotomy and its relevance in Montenegrin
context.

In the empirical part I employ different quantitative research methods (data analysis,
structured interviews, questionnaires) and qualitative (focus groups and semi structured
interviews) with representatives of the pro-feminist organizations and the pro-feminist
social movements in Montenegro. In this part, I try to determine how the feminist discourses
influence Montenegrin women emancipation and what their repercussions for the feminist
stance in Montenegro are today.