The coed protests in Serbia have continued for seven months, yielding widespread and numerous results. All state universities are nonetheless blocked and first and secondary college lecturers ceased work from January to April 2025. Legal professionals went on strike all through the entire of February, whereas farmers and college professors have additionally voiced their assist. Roads have been blocked and college students have organized marches not solely throughout many elements of the nation but additionally to EU establishments in Brussels and Strasbourg. Notably, nationwide minorities reported feeling equal to Serbian residents for the primary time.
Nonetheless, essentially the most vital final result of the coed protests has been the substantial delegitimization of Aleksandar Vučić’s populist Serbian Progressive Occasion (SPP) authorities. After half a yr of struggles, it has turn out to be clear that the federal government’s legitimacy is just not solely questionable however non-existent.
But the SPP stays in energy and seems to be rising extra repressive. The federal government has illegally lower the salaries of college professors who assist the scholars. With out proof, it has accused and imprisoned six opposition activists, together with college students. On the largest peaceable protest held in Belgrade on 15 March, the federal government used a non-lethal weapon, the ‘sound cannon’, towards them.
Oppression is thought to extend proportionally with declining legitimacy, however the query of what it means to manipulate with out legitimacy stays unaddressed. The issue that this query raises is the actuality of energy with out legitimacy – the violence below which all establishments of democratic society and political communities as we all know them are presently being dismantled.
College of Belgrade School of Philosophy. Picture: Александр Сигачёв / Wikimedia Commons
That is unimaginable from a civic perspective, since energy with out legitimacy can not actually be energy. It could solely be met with legal-metaphorical insults akin to ‘prison authorities’, ‘captured state’ or ‘mafia state’, within the hope that these phrases will mobilize resistance to the brand new state of affairs.
Disjunctive synthesis
Along with mass protests, one of many common actions taken by the rebellious college students and residents continues to be the honouring of the deceased with a sixteen-minute silence (representing the 16 victims of the cover collapse) in public locations, accompanied by highway blockades. Symbolically, this motion illustrates one of many protest’s slogans: ‘All the pieces should cease.’ All the pieces should cease till duty for the deaths is decided, or, as the scholars’ preliminary calls for said, till establishments begin doing their job. This primarily referred to the general public prosecutor’s workplace, from which an unbiased investigation into the cover collapse was demanded.
It’s extensively recognized that the general public prosecutor in Serbia can’t be unbiased due to the undermining of establishments that has been ongoing for the reason that SPP got here to energy. If we add the truth that the cover collapse occurred on the not too long ago reconstructed railway station, a part of a broader public and state challenge to renovate the railway community, we now have a scenario the place the scholars’ calls for are inconceivable to fulfil, for the reason that authorities must arrest itself.
From the start, the paradoxical nature of the coed calls for was considered as a tactic – a name for individuals working inside establishments to hitch the scholars and residents in protests and to liberate the prosecutor’s workplace as a ‘captured establishment’. However regardless of the massiveness of the protests, the mobilization of workers didn’t occur. College students due to this fact got here ahead with a brand new demand: the calling of snap parliamentary elections. This authorities should be overthrown if we wish free and unbiased establishments.
It’s extensively accepted that the tragedy was not an accident. Whereas ‘corruption kills’ was a outstanding protest slogan, these protests aren’t solely about eradicating corruption from establishments; from the outset, additionally they put ahead an affirmative proposal for establishments. It’s no secret that the Serbian authorities’s prison nature stems from widespread particular person corruption and mass clientelism, which the ruling social gathering makes use of to manage public servants. This corruption is a key motive why college students’ requires a normal strike haven’t been efficient.
Furthermore, the anti-corruption narrative is extra attribute of the political opposition than of the scholars, whose statements are constantly stuffed with calls for for justice, solidarity, safety and the rule of legislation. Whereas the opposition usually highlights its function in initiating the preliminary protests and the act of commemorating the lifeless, the sheer scale of the tragedy was the first driver of the protests’ widespread participation.
Our impression is that the metaphorical nature of dying has galvanized and mobilized individuals. This phenomenon occurred for the second time inside in a brief historic and political interval. Two years earlier than, a bloodbath at a Belgrade elementary college resulted in a single pupil killing ten college students and one grownup. The very subsequent day, one other mass homicide occurred in two cities near Belgrade.
Loss of life and accidents will be thought-about actants for social and political occasions. The commemorative facet of Serbian protests is their defining attribute. Though initially triggered by violence towards college students, the coed blockades concurrently served as a solemn tribute to the deceased.
It will be inconceivable to analyse this case with out acknowledging the function of dying and struggling, because it additionally reveals a world phenomenon: irresponsible governance and the whole absence of the authorized safety, which has vanished with widespread deregulation and the ‘criminalization’ of political energy. In essence, whereas dying and tragedies certainly prompted a large turnout, the organizational impetus for these political occasions stems from the student-led blockades of universities.
In contrast to the standard and structural follow of the political opposition, the scholars initially didn’t name for a change of regime, however moderately a change of the system. Now, nevertheless, they’re certainly demanding regime change, additionally stipulating that the opposition mustn’t take part within the listing they’d assist.
Consequently, each protest motion and political opposition are in search of the identical factor, however will not be doing so collaboratively. How did such a mutual ‘miss’ come about, given the widespread impression that these protests solid a broad alliance amongst varied social and political actors? One dimension of this drawback is the federal government’s long-standing discrediting of the opposition, resulting in residents’ reluctance to simply accept it for concern of being defamed themselves. It was safer to say that civic activism had nothing to do with politics – a stance that, even earlier than these protests, was a prerequisite for enormous protests.
Nonetheless, this has led to the issue of depoliticization. One can nonetheless hear the assertion, ‘this isn’t politics’, a phrase first utilized by college students’ dad and mom in quite a few civil protests. But it surely has additionally led to the issue of ‘omnipoliticization’, claiming ‘every little thing is politics’. The latter stance undermines the organizational capability and scope for political negotiation crucial for forging alliances for presidency change. This was the first motive for college kids to distance themselves from every other group, be it opposition events, civil society organizations or activist teams.
At this time we now have a extra politically articulated response from college students relating to their distance from opposition events. Particularly, college students are insisting on an electoral listing that excludes outstanding opposition politicians. They declare that the opposition has didn’t agree upon and unite behind a single listing able to overthrowing the present authorities, in a means that conjures up confidence throughout the nation.
Along with reflecting the worldwide development of political social gathering crises, this additionally speaks to the scholars’ subjectivization. The opposition failed in what the scholars think about their biggest success: their unity. For them, the principal factor is being collectively, making choices transparently by way of discussions on the plenums of their blockades. As an artist and professor famous, the scholars steadfastly adhere to the social contract they established for themselves. This has stunned everybody and shattered stereotypes a few self-referential, self-contained digital era.
Regardless of being the primary era born with digital applied sciences, private relationships are paramount to the scholars. They strongly worth solidarity with numerous social teams and the absence of hierarchy, which explains the shortage of leaders or inside competitors: they respect everybody’s individuality and authenticity. The analysis concludes that their interplay with older generations will likely be essential sooner or later.
In a way, that is exactly what’s unfolding in Serbia immediately. By means of their actions and an virtually obstinate persistence of their calls for, they’ve elicited types of solidarity and assist that nobody might have anticipated. At one level, the scholars known as upon residents to arrange themselves into assemblies, mirroring the plenum mannequin, thereby making certain everybody’s involvement in decision-making on state and nationwide points. Since that second, assemblies have been accompanied by blockades and protests, which intensify the strain on the present authorities.
Nonetheless, it’s necessary to notice that assist and solidarity manifest far more on an emotional (affective) aircraft than on a political organizing and decision-making aircraft. Residents react very emotionally to college students, embracing them and weeping, perceiving them as their youngsters and liberators, and themselves as dad and mom moderately than as energetic residents.
Whereas the emotional aircraft is critical and has its affirmative results, it additionally presents drawbacks, significantly on the subject of constructing alliances. Past declarative assist and commemorative gatherings, workers in public establishments haven’t organized themselves. The impression is that emotional involvement – a protecting concern for college kids as younger individuals, as youngsters – prevails over energetic participation in a typical battle. In different phrases, dad and mom will not be taking extra decisive steps, and it generally seems as if they’re hiding behind their youngsters.
It’s extensively believed that broader political organizing should contain negotiations with opposition events, and plenty of hope that some type of cooperation will likely be achieved. Nonetheless, regardless of supporting college students, the opposition remains to be not taking steps to ascertain political cooperation with them. Even the scholars’ demand for snap parliamentary elections has not prompted the opposition to be extra decisive and be part of the strain on the federal government by leaving parliament.
In early June 2025, common elections befell in two smaller Serbian cities. In one among them, your entire opposition, on the invitation of scholars, united on a single electoral listing. This unparalleled unity, backed by pupil assist, led many to anticipate their victory. Nonetheless, the SPP authorities retained energy by a slim margin, by way of below hand techniques together with blackmail of public servants, ‘capillary mobilization’ (social gathering members should guarantee assist amongst their households), vote shopping for and providing items to pensioners and the poor, together with irregularities in voter lists. Regardless of this, many throughout the protest motion view the election as successful and a check for the snap parliamentary elections they’re demanding for.
It’s sure that the coed blockades and protests have already triggered the federal government to lose the assist it beforehand loved. Particularly, processes of emotional and symbolic assist for college kids have led to a lack of authorities legitimacy. From the angle of political organizing, it is a novelty. The time period ‘disjunctive synthesis’, which means fragmentation and the manufacturing of a mess of variations, with the goal of reconnecting divided elements into new combos and understandings in novel methods, captures this characteristic of the protest precisely.
These protests signify a motion of and assist for the youth, symbolizing a generational shift and nationwide renewal. For the primary time in a few years, individuals in Serbia are seeing a future for themselves and their youngsters inside it. Given the worldwide context of accelerating threats to democracy from intolerant regimes and wars, what is especially fascinating is that this future remains to be envisioned as democratic. Nonetheless, this imaginative and prescient is just not resistant to world shifts, through which that democratic values are actually perceived as nationwide. This can be a new type of sovereignty but additionally of isolationism, and one which deviates from the earlier understanding of democratic values as common.
Battle on a symbolic aircraft
Throughout their protests and arduous lengthy marches, overlaying tons of of kilometres throughout almost all of Serbia – to such an extent that at one level their cities of origin grew to become unclear – the scholars raised state flags, sang the nationwide anthem, and carried copies of the structure with them.
The scholars embraced nationwide symbols, reclaiming them for themselves and successfully wresting them from the federal government. It was they and never the present regime who organized the true celebration of Statehood Day with a protest in Kragujevac, Serbia’s first capital. On this context, the federal government’s demagoguery – which portrays itself because the defender of Serbian, state and nationwide pursuits – stays ineffective. By taking on these symbols, the scholars are, in a way, appropriating the very state they goal to save lots of from its corrupt authorities.
The coed protests in Serbia additionally garnered assist from many throughout the republics of the previous Yugoslavia, who believed that these protests might foster a special Serbia – one that’s non-hegemonic and peaceable. Apparently, none of them refers to Yugoslavia, the emancipatory socialist challenge that ended with bloody wars largely led and inspired by Serbia. Due to this fact, it’s virtually unbelievable that immediately, whereas supporting the scholars, Croats discuss with them as ‘our Serbs’, whereas Bosniaks residing in Serbia – who had been among the many biggest victims within the wars – are, for the primary time, being thought to be equal residents.
A current scene disarmed us all. A blockade of the state tv was organized throughout the Easter holidays. To keep up the blockade whereas permitting college students of the bulk Orthodox religion to have a good time Easter with their households, they had been changed by Bosniak college students from Novi Pazar. And that wasn’t all: on that event, a Serbian army veteran from the Nineties battle greeted the blockade meeting with the phrases ‘Salam alaikum’, assuring the dad and mom of the Bosniak college students that they’d shield them as a result of all the scholars had been ‘their youngsters’.
Definitely, one thing is shifting relating to nationalism, a drive perpetuated by all present post-Yugoslav regimes. It seems that the residents of those international locations really feel much less and fewer threatened, even when college students in Serbia, throughout their marches, carry not solely state flags but additionally Orthodox icons, crosses and different symbols below which Serbia fought wars within the Nineties.
However, residents who had been energetic in anti-war and peace-building insurance policies, nonetheless specific concern. This symbolism, they concern, means that the guideline of ‘reality, duty and reconciliation’ could by no means actually take root. Certainly, the scholars really feel that confronting the wartime previous is just too nice burden for them, contemplating they weren’t even born throughout the Nineties. Evidently, their main concern is the current. Thus, once they assert their respect for the structure, additionally they affirm their respect for its preamble, which claims that Kosovo is an inalienable a part of Serbia.
These are all questions and issues for which options must be sought – with extra confidence than the trauma-laden previous was in a position to muster. The battle in Kosovo, the mass casualties and dedicated crimes, and particularly the Albanian battle for self-determination and independence are profound political problems with the current future. It’s to be hoped that the scholars will go for insurance policies that won’t divide them till they obtain their aim. This stance is supported by the conservative-nationalist opposition public opinion, which asserts that Vučić betrayed Kosovo and capitulated to its independence – a sentiment these younger individuals should now deal with.
It was stunning that, amidst an environment of profound distrust towards the worldwide order, college students organized a bicycle tour to Strasbourg, adopted by a marathon to Brussels, to current their perspective on the scenario in Serbia to EU establishments. The prevailing pondering amongst Serbian residents is that the EU is uninterested of their struggles towards the regime, in addition to within the corruption within the nation. This sense of disappointment is additional strengthened by the current insistence of main EU member states’ settlement with the present regime over the exploitation of uncommon uncooked supplies in Serbia, primarily lithium. This problem had, in earlier years, already triggered quite a few citizen protests.
Political articulation
The disaster of illustration, characterised by widespread distrust in political events, manifested in Serbia as demand for a systemic change. Nonetheless, it usually turn out to be a polemical stance and an argument that sowed discord amongst supporters of the opposition. Provided that opposition to the regime extends past merely party-organized residents, and that civil society organizations are extra than simply GONGO and PANGO, it’s crucial to rethink the notion of political articulation.
Neither the criminalization of the federal government nor the political articulation solely by events affords an enough resolution to the disaster and the prevailing scenario, which remains to be largely dictated by these holding a monopoly on violence and employment. The scholars’ choice to demand snap parliamentary elections, coupled with their intention to kind their very own electoral listing, is burdened by a type of tutorial intellectualism. It appears it can not adequately reply to the calls for of ‘political veridiction’ – that’s, discerning the political reality of our present scenario.
On this sense, the intention to kind ‘their very own listing’ seems to be extra a symptom than a aware political choice or type of political articulation, as a result of they appear unaware of the political perform and function of college autonomy. This itself is a political choice, basically outlined by politics. Belief on this autonomy has, as soon as once more, rallied the group on a scale (each symbolic and ethical) that the regime can not dream of reaching.
A political articulation that embraces political intellectuality, through which the college doesn’t essentially take part in social gathering formation, would provide a means out of the entice they fell into – a entice created by the disaster of illustration and mistrust within the consultant ‘system’ of politics. An consciousness of the underlying drawback ought to exchange the unconscious manifestation of signs that merely grazed the floor of the problem. It ought to spotlight the will for change and the imaginative and prescient of a brand new political group – one that’s ‘actually’ based mostly on democracy and the rule of legislation.
This ‘truthfulness’ or authenticity represents not merely a brand new try, however a renewed effort to kind a political group. It’s a type of political articulation that’s already underway; it merely requires a bit extra braveness to withstand entrenched habits of thought, that are most simply imposed when the topic is well mannered and obedient.
