The Sandžak became part of Serbia and Montenegro only relatively late, in the context of the First Balkan War in 1912. Previously, the region was under Austro-Hungarian administration (1878-1908) and then briefly reverted to Ottoman rule. Linking Serbia to Montenegro and thus to the Adriatic, historically the region had great strategic significance for Serbia. With a Muslim population majority, Sandžak did not fit into the Serbian nation state easily during the interwar period. During World War II, parts of Sandžak came under Italian-dominated Montenegrin and Albanian rule, while other parts remained part of Serbia, albeit under German military rule. The partisan movement briefly entertained the idea of a regional autonomy in Sandžak, but in post-war Yugoslavia, the region was again divided between Serbia and Montenegro (Banac 1988, 101-2, 104-5). The Muslims of Yugoslavia were first recognized as a distinct nation in 1968, equal to Serbs and Montenegrins (Ramet 1992, 179). The majority of Yugoslav Muslims (8.9% of the total Yugoslav population in 1991), i.e. Slavic Serbo-Croatian speakers of Muslim religious and cultural background, were living in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Savezni zavod za statistiku, 1998). With the collapse of Yugoslavia, Muslims were divided from their kin in Bosnia and Herzegovina and at first denied recognition by the newly formed Federal Republic of Yugoslavia composed of Serbia and Montenegro. With the beginning of the Bosnia war in 1992 and the policy of ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Serbs, especially directed against Muslims, interethnic relations in Sandzak worsened, including small-scale ethnic cleansing in the border region and discrimination against Muslims. In response, Muslim political parties, during the 1990s led by the Party for Democratic Action (SDA), the sister party of the dominant Muslim party in Bosnia and Herzegovina, called for autonomy of Sandzak, leaving the option of seceding from Serbia and Montenegro to join Bosnia theoretically open. In 1991 the Muslim National Council of Sandžak organized a referendum on autonomy. Although declared illegal by the state, a majority of Muslims appear to have voted in favor of a regional autonomy (Lyons 2008: 79). As a response, the SDA was briefly criminalized and Muslims were marginalized in Serbian politics until the fall of the semi-authoritarian Milosevic regime in 2000 and in Montenegro until the government of Milo Djukanovic broke with Serbia in 1997 and pursued a reformist path. Since the democratization in Serbia and Montenegro, demands for autonomy in Sandzak have faded and instead demands focus on greater minority rights protection and more say in the running of the country and region. The Bosniak community is divided. In 1993 a congress of Muslim intellectuals in Sarajevo adopted the name Bosniak to describe Muslims to emphasize the connection to Bosnia and to diminish the awkward link between religion and national identity. This switch has lead to a split within the community in Serbia and Montenegro with most accepting the new name and others rejecting it (Dimitrovova 2001). In the 2003 Montenegrin census, 7.8% of the population declared themselves to be Bosniaks, 4% Muslims (Zavod za statistiku 2004). In Serbia in 2002, 1.82% of the total population (without Kosovo) identified at Bosniaks, 0.26% as Muslims. In both countries, the share of Muslims is greater in areas where the community does not constitute a majority (Bijelo Polje and Prijepolje), whereas in the municipalities which are overwhelmingly Bosniak/Muslim (Tutin, Novi Pazar) the majority identifies as Bosniaks (Republički zavod za statistiku, 2002). The community is also divided into two countries. A majority of Montenegrin Bosniaks supported Montenegrin independence and vote for multiethnic mainstream parties (such as the governing Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS and the Socialdemocratic Party, SDP). In the Serbian part of Sandzak, Bosniak political parties enjoy most support from the electorate and opposed Montenegrin independence as this divided the region. Serbs constitute the other big community in Sandzak. In Montenegro, since World War II most Orthodox citizens identified as Montenegrins. As the term ‘Montenegrin’ has become to be associated closely with supporters of Montenegrin independence since the mid-1990s, many in Sandzak identify as Serbs, signifying support for close ties to Serbia. In the 2006 independence referendum, a majority in three predominantly Serb populated Montenegrin municipalities in the Sandzak region voted against independence. In addition to the Serb and Bosniak community, there are also smaller Roma and Albanian communities in Sandzak. Albanians constitute a significant share of the population only in the two Montenegrin municipalities Plav and Rozaje, whereas Roma live throughout the region in relatively small numbers. International involvement in Sandzak has been minimal. During the 1990s, the Milosevic government opposed any significant international presence. The only notable international mission in Sandzak was the “CSCE Missions of Long Duration in Kosovo, Sandjak and Vojvodina”, established in 1992, but expelled in June 1993 by the Serbian authorities. Later OSCE Missions, established in Montenegro in 1998 and in Serbia in 2000 have been active in Sandzak, but considering the lower level of tensions, had a limited role. Although Bosniaks constitute the largest group in Bosnia, it did not act as a kin-state, as the power-sharing arrangement prevents such policies. Nevertheless, the SDA in Serbia and a number of smaller Bosniak parties in Montenegro have been receiving support and maintained close ties to the SDA in Bosnia.