No, Let’s Not Build a Dubai on the Adriatic
In the Balkan state of Montenegro, public land is being turned over to luxury hotels and megaports for yachts. In a new agreement, investors from the United Arab Emirates will be able to bypass legislation and carve up the country as they please.
Montenegrin prime minister Milojko Spajić during a panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 22, 2025. (Stefan Wermuth / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
On Europe’s Balkan periphery, there is constant dispute over what space this region truly belongs to. It’s neither quite the West nor truly the East — let alone part of the Global South. In times of war, economic recession, and globalization, the Balkans are rarely mentioned: a “desert of post-socialism” left off the map.
A steady flow of neocolonial projects continues in the Balkans, often cast as an “unfinished capitalist transition.” The most recent example: an agreement signed between Montenegro and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This deal grants extraordinary privileges to the investor, including the ability to bypass national legislations and to basically pick a piece of land they can privatize.
The tragicomedy of parliamentary democracy reached new heights when Montenegro’s government approved the act via legislators’ WhatsApp group. The message was sent by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, a crypto evangelist and ex–Goldman Sachs analyst.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.