From Disruption to Stabilization: A Functional Governance Perspective on the Renewable Energy Transition in Montenegro

Abstract

As global climate ambitions intensify, the key challenge lies not in setting renewable energy targets but in designing governance systems that can translate them into lasting transformation. The transition management literature has advanced a valuable research agenda for initiating change through niche innovations and participatory arenas in early transition phases. However, more attention is required to understand the governance functions needed to stabilize and scale these transitions. This article offers a complementary perspective to the transitions management literature by outlining a functional governance framework for assessing Montenegro's renewable energy transition, with a focus on five governance pillars: (1) motivation and actor mobilization (input), (2) policy agenda-setting, translation, and anchoring (process), (3) implementation, enforcement, and accountability (output), (4) resources and competences (support), and (5) leadership and coordination (support). Drawing on expert surveys and focus group interviews, the analysis reveals how the entanglements between weak coordination, fragmented leadership, and inadequate enforcement mechanisms produce systemic inertia despite formal commitments to a renewable energy transition. The functional approach foregrounds governance itself as an object of inquiry and shows how cascading failures across functional domains can stall transitions. Nonetheless, it also identifies emerging synergies, such as donor coordination and cross-sectoral platforms, that may offer entry points for reform. Montenegro's experience underscores the need for context-sensitive, system-oriented governance design in transition-ready states.