MC Scholar looks to faculty experience with Euro-Atlantic integration
February 20, 2007
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany — The first Marshall Center Scholar from Montenegro made the most of the Center faculty’s experience with Euro-Atlantic integration as he completed research here that he hopes will boost his country’s efforts in its first year in the Partnership for Peace program.
Marshall Center Scholar Mehmedin Tahirovic answers a question about his research project on Montenegro's participation in the Partnership for Peace program during a faculty seminar Feb. 20.
Mehmedin Tahirovic, an advisor to Montenegro’s police directorate on issues of Euro-Atlantic and European integration, researched Montenegro’s participation in PfP during his five weeks as visiting scholar at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies here. Montenegro, which declared independence from the state union of Serbia-Montenegro June 3, signed the framework document to become a Partner country Dec. 14.
The greatest advantage of participating in the Marshall Center’s visiting scholars program was having access to faculty with extensive experience with the process that Montenegro is now going through, Tahirovic said.
“I got the experience of people with a long record with the NATO defense institute,” Tahirovic said through an interpreter. “[Professor Dr.] Fritz Rademacher gave me a number of interesting ideas and also very good advice about the NATO website as a resource to be used for various target audiences.
“[Professor John] Kriendler was instrumental in helping me sort out what Montenegro should do as its first priorities. Also very useful were my discussions with [Professor Dr. Dragan] Lozanic about the experience of Croatia, because Croatia was there before us. [Discussing] what they did at the very beginning was quite helpful.”
“I could raise all the issues relating to Montenegro and discuss them and get opinions,” Tahirovic said. “Those interviews were essential for me.”
In his paper, which Tahirovic said is the first academic research in Montenegro on the subject, Tahirovic describes the challenges his country faces in its reform processes and outlines recommendations for the first year’s priorities. Among 10 priorities at the state level, Tahirovic lists the adoption of a constitution in keeping with the principles and standards of the European Union, the adoption of strategic documents, laws and regulations required to fulfill obligations assumed in participation in PfP and the establishment of institutions to maintain democratic control of the security sector.
Tahirovic noted that it is important to keep the public informed of Montenegro’s efforts, which he also lists as a priority.
“The first goal [of my research] is to provide information to researchers as well as the broader public about what needs to be done in terms of cooperating with Partnership for Peace, especially in the initial stages. Not many people are very well informed about the Partnership for Peace program,”
Tahirovic said. Tahirovic said that interviews with Croatian PASS participants reinforced for him the importance of keeping the public informed.
“We learned from Croatia’s experience, where there was a real problem with public opinion. I think we might work not to repeat that mistake. We have not paid enough attention to that aspect for a long time but things are getting better at the moment,” Tahirovic said.
The timing of Tahirovic’s research is good, said Professor Amb. Przemyslaw Grudzinski, one of Tahirovic’s mentors and supervisors.
“It is important in the early phases of integration to develop a cadre who know the same terminology and speak the same language. To achieve success, the country needs people who understand the Partnership for Peace program and who are able to speak to NATO,” Grudzinski said.
Like all Marshall Center Scholars, Tahirovic is a Marshall Center alumnus, having attended both the Executive Program in Advanced Security Studies and the Senior Executive Seminar. He said he was very fortunate to participate in Center courses and then to have the opportunity to return to do research through the Research Program.
The director of the Research Program, Dr. Sabine Collmer, said the visiting scholars, which number about four a year, belong to a special subgroup of course participants with a research background. With their qualifications and their regional knowledge, she said, not only do the scholars benefit from the Marshall Center’s community of experts, but the Research Program and the Marshall Center also benefit from the scholars’ visits.
“We are able to work with people we would never have the opportunity to work with otherwise,” Collmer said, noting a Georgian defense budget analyst and Romanian defense transformation specialist among recent scholars. “They give us unique insight into their country and into regional development, and very current information. It’s important that we stay up to date.”
By taking part in the MC Scholars Program, the visiting scholars also become part of a network of researchers who are experts on a wide range of security related issues.
“It is invaluable to have face-to-face contacts for trustful relations in the future,” Collmer said. “When we plan a new international project, we know people who we can approach directly, they know us from former encounters and this turns out to be the best basis for collaborative research work and confidence building.”
Tahirovic predicted that his involvement with the Marshall Center will not end with his research project. “When I look forward into the future, I think Montenegro’s cooperation with the Marshall Center will increase with time, which will be very good for us. I hope I can play a constructive role in that.”
