Over time each of these groups of people developed their own cultures and lifestyles.
Although still based on the lands, the lifestyles changed due to religion, diet,
and more. Culturally, the people grew further and further apart, but being somewhat
isolated in the mountains, there was little conflict due to these differences.
As political conflicts ebbed and flowed over time so too did alliances. Often times
the Serbs and Montenegrins united due to their many similarities, but at other times
unity cast a wider net and included nearly everyone. What has been fairly consistent
though is the people's ability to maintain peace, particularly in comparison
to the region as a whole. When battles and wars were magnified, the Montenegrins
tended to wait.
Today the Montenegrins remain diverse culturally, yet united politically. The people
all have differing cultures and lifestyles as they have taken few moves to define
themselves or exclude others. This has also led to a lack of identity and a failure
to define or understand who they are. Many of the ethnic Albanians, Serbs, and Bosniaks
identify as such, but the ethnic Montenegrins are only now beginning to understand
who they are as they seem to be in a slow process to define themselves, their culture,
their lifestyle, and their identity.