After the disintegration of communist Yugoslavia a new entity was created – the Federative Republic of Yugoslavia. The newly created state consisted of two Republics previously belonging to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia – Serbia and Montenegro. At the beginning, when FR Yugoslavia was created, both Belgrade and Podgorica shared a common goal which was unifying the federation – an effort to territorially expand and cover territories which the Serbian or Montenegrin population were living on. However, in time this changed. First, the democratic option with Milo Djukanović at helm took power in Montenegro in 1998 and afterwards, in 2000 the situation dramatically changed in Belgrade as well, as the democratic opposition overthrew Slobodan Milošević. This meant that a new reassessment of relations within the Federation needed to take place. However, immediately after the 2000 election, the newly elected government in Serbia was not willing to make any big changes in the structure of the country as it needed to focus on more pressing issues within the Republic. Over time this lead to a gradual increase in tensions between Belgrade and Podgorica. After the initial stall a fresh approach to the reform was undertaken which led to the creation of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. It turned out that the newly created state would not be long lived as in 2006 Montenegro opted for independence. The article examines the process of reform that has led to the creation of Serbia and Montenegro in a search for explanation of main factors that have contributed to the fact that the newly created state did not pass the test of time.

After the disintegration of communist Yugoslavia a new entity was created – the Federative Republic of Yugoslavia. The newly created state consisted of two Republics previously belonging to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia – Serbia and Montenegro. At the beginning, when FR Yugoslavia was created, both Belgrade and Podgorica shared a common goal which was unifying the federation – an effort to territorially expand and cover territories which the Serbian or Montenegrin population were living on. However, in time this changed. First, the democratic option with Milo Djukanović at helm took power in Montenegro in 1998 and afterwards, in 2000 the situation dramatically changed in Belgrade as well, as the democratic opposition overthrew Slobodan Milošević. This meant that a new reassessment of relations within the Federation needed to take place. However, immediately after the 2000 election, the newly elected government in Serbia was not willing to make any big changes in the structure of the country as it needed to focus on more pressing issues within the Republic. Over time this lead to a gradual increase in tensions between Belgrade and Podgorica. After the initial stall a fresh approach to the reform was undertaken which led to the creation of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. It turned out that the newly created state would not be long lived as in 2006 Montenegro opted for independence. The article examines the process of reform that has led to the creation of Serbia and Montenegro in a search for explanation of main factors that have contributed to the fact that the newly created state did not pass the test of time.