{"id":12481,"date":"2025-03-21T14:29:51","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T13:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.prif.org\/uprisings-in-serbia-struggles-against-a-resilient-regime\/"},"modified":"2025-05-16T17:21:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T15:21:32","slug":"uprisings-in-serbia-struggles-against-a-resilient-regime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.prif.org\/en\/2025\/03\/21\/uprisings-in-serbia-struggles-against-a-resilient-regime\/","title":{"rendered":"Uprisings in Serbia. Struggle(s) against a resilient regime"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the collapse of the recently renovated Novi Sad train station, which resulted in the death of 15 people, students across Serbia have been leading one of Europe\u2019s largest protest movements. After months of anti-corruption demonstrations demanding justice and government accountability, hundreds of thousands gathered in Belgrade on March 15, 2025, in what some call the largest mass protest in Serbia\u2019s history. While unprecedented in scale, these protests build on previous uprisings since 2018, driven by diverse causes, but united by a common thread \u2013 deep dissatisfaction with the corrupted state apparatus and Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s regime. This article explores the similarities and differences among these movements and why, despite their massive scale, achieving political change in Serbia remains so difficult. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have never seen anything like this before \u2013 and we were there during the massive demonstrations that led to the overthrow of Milo\u0161evi\u0107\u2019s regime in the early 2000s.\u201d This is how people who were in Belgrade on March 15, 2025, describe the peaceful, \u2018Gandhian\u2019 mass demonstrations \u2013 a show of nonviolent resistance that some have already called the largest protests Serbia has ever seen<\/a>1<\/sup>. And it is not just those who lived through the 1990s who say this \u2013 younger protesters, born during or after that era, share the same sentiment. <\/p>\n

Since 2018, protests in Serbia have increased in both frequency and intensity, driven by growing concern over political violence, the rise of authoritarianism, widespread state corruption, and the erosion of the rule of law. Many protesters attribute Serbia\u2019s current problems to the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska napredna stranka<\/em>, SNS) and its leader, President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107. In turn, Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s government has become increasingly repressive, implementing measures that erode citizens\u2019 rights across various spheres<\/a>.2<\/sup> This Spotlight highlights three movements from the broader Serbian protest landscape: #1od5miliona<\/em> (One [person] out of five million)<\/em> in 2018\/19, Ne damo Jadar (We won\u2019t give up Jadar)<\/em> in 2021\/22\/24, and Svi u Blokade (Everybody to the blockades!)<\/em> in 2024\/25. By analyzing these cases we show how, despite their ability to mobilize large-scale resistance, state repression and institutional constraints have so far prevented the political change that these movements demand \u2013 and why and how the current protests stand apart. <\/p>\n

Recurring Patterns of Mobilization<\/h2>\n

The One out of five million<\/em> protest wave, which lasted for nearly two years, was triggered by the beating of Borko Stefanovi\u0107, the leader of a minor opposition party, on November 28, 2018. These protests, rooted in widespread dissatisfaction with the government\u2018s repression and erosion of political rights, gained momentum in December with participation quickly growing to 45,000 at later demonstrations<\/a>.3<\/sup> President Vu\u010di\u0107 dismissed the movement, stating he wouldn\u2019t meet the protestors demands \u201eeven if there were five million of you\u201c \u2013 a remark that inspired the protest\u2019s name, #1od5miliona (\u201cOne [person] out of five million\u201d)<\/em><\/a>4<\/sup>. The movement remained largely peaceful until March 2019, when demonstrators forcefully entered the building of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), the country\u2018s main public broadcaster, due to general dissatisfaction with its reporting and protesters\u2019 demands of greater media freedom. This resulted in clashes between police and protesters. Later, opposition leaders announced their decision to boycott the 2020 parliamentary elections. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the protests to a halt, and the elections, initially scheduled for April, were postponed, eventually taking place in June 2020. <\/p>\n

\"\"
Serbia has a long history of protests, with student demonstrations playing a key role. In response to electoral fraud in 1996, students united under the slogan \u201cBelgrade is the world\u201d protesting against Slobodan Milo\u0161evi\u0107\u2019s regime. These month-long protests are seen as a turning point leading to his eventual downfall. | Foto: \u00a9 EPA-EFE\/ Mladen Antonov | <\/a>Editorial license for print and online<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That same year, the We won\u2018t give up Jadar<\/em> protests emerged as a response from local communities and environmental groups opposing the Australian-British mining company Rio Tinto\u2019s plans to open a lithium mine in western Serbia. Their resistance was driven by concerns over ecological contamination, as well as the potential loss of property and agricultural livelihoods. However, by 2021 and 2022, this local opposition turned into nationwide protests, rallying a significant portion of the Serbian population into a unified movement. The protesters criticized a lack of transparency with regards to the project\u2019s implementation, corruption, and the perception that political elites were prioritizing foreign corporate interests over the well-being of citizens. Eventually, they led to the annulment of contracts between Serbia and Rio Tinto on lithium mining in 2022. During the Raw Materials Summit in Belgrade in July 2024 with EU representatives and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz present, a new Memorandum of Understanding was signed, covering the extraction and production of raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles, all of high significance for the German car industry. While the Summit prompted the protests to erupt again the following week, the struggle is still ongoing. Finally, Serbia\u2018s most recent protests, Everybody to the blockades!<\/em> relate to the collapse of the recently renovated Novi Sad train station in November 2024, which marked a turning point in the county\u2018s protest landscape. The collapse occurred only months after the building was officially renovated, leading to general outrage over corruption and a lack of accountability in Serbian institutions. During a 15-minute silent vigil paying tribute to the victims, several students and faculty staff members in front of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts were attacked by an unknown group of men<\/a>.5<\/sup> This led to a blockade of the faculty, which escalated weeks later into a full-scale shutdown of the University of Belgrade. These protests are student-led and have evolved into university blockades and mass protests spreading across major academic centers \u2013 Belgrade, Ni\u0161, Novi Sad, and Kragujevac. Students articulated four central demands: (1) transparency regarding the train stations\u2019 renovation, (2) accountability for attacks on student protesters, (3) the dismissal of charges against those arrested at the demonstrations, and (4) a 20% increase in funding for state higher education institutions<\/a>. 6<\/sup> None of these demands have been met, prompting two nationwide general strikes \u2013 on January 28 and March 7. Since the beginning of the protests, over 400 cities and multiplicities in Serbia have held demonstrations, supporting the students<\/a>. 7<\/sup> The means of the protests varied from blocking critical road junctures, bridges, and university facilities to demonstrating in front of the prosecutor\u2019s office and the main public broadcaster, but also included days-long marches through towns across Serbia, as protesters walked on foot to reach all four university centers. Along the way, they were welcomed by local communities, who opened football stadiums, school gyms, and municipal halls to provide them with shelter and food \u2013 demonstrating an extraordinary level of national unity and solidarity. <\/p>\n

The largest protest yet took place in Belgrade on March 15, where hundreds of thousands marched peacefully in what some have called an unprecedented display of nonviolent resistance in the country. Despite their growing scale and determination, as well as rising tensions and provocations from the ruling party, the protesters remain committed to peaceful means. <\/p>\n

While the reasons behind the different protest movements may differ, they share several core grievances \u2013 chief among them, a profound sense of betrayal due to rampant corruption and the subsequent \u201aselling out\u2018 of the country and its citizens. However, a significant shift is observed in the role of opposition political parties: while they were key drivers of the 2018\/19 protests, recently their presence has notably diminished. <\/p>\n

The Evolution of Repressive Politics<\/h2>\n

In responding to protest movements, President Vu\u010di\u0107 \u2013 once \u2018Minister of Information\u2019 under Milo\u0161evi\u0107 \u2013 consistently employed direct and blunt forms of violence, fueled a threatening and intimidating discourse characterized by \u2018strong man\u2019 rhetoric and levied legal attacks on civil liberties. While direct police violence characterized the protest cycles of 2018\/19 and 2021\/22, recent actions suggest ashift in strategy. Violence is now increasingly being channeled through intermediaries and \u201cmiddlemen\u201d associated with but formally independent from the government. In the most recent protests related to the accident in Novi Sad, the protests originated in the first place as a response to a violent attack on students and faculty members, and they have since been met with further violence. In January 2025, two students were run over by cars during two separate peaceful demonstrations, resulting in serious injuries<\/a>.8<\/sup> Another group of students was attacked in front of the SNS headquarters in Novi Sad by four individuals affiliated with the party<\/a>.9<\/sup> <\/p>\n

In the past, activists involved in the Rio Tinto resistance have received anonymous death threats as well as checks and prolonged detentions at border crossings<\/a>.10<\/sup> In justifying these actions, the government persistently draws on narratives that portray resistance against the mining project or the government as a foreign-backed plot to destabilize Serbia<\/a>.11<\/sup> In the current protests, conspiracy theories spread by government officials about \u2018colour revolutions\u2019 and foreign influence are a common tactic.12<\/sup> In addition, the government has also sought counter protests by organizing counter-rallies. This was the case during the One of five million<\/em> protests, but also during the latest demonstrations in 2024\/25. These counter-protests organized by the ruling SNS, and the government are part of a broader strategy to maintain the government\u2019s narrative, presenting itself as the legitimate and popular force in Serbian politics while attempting to undermine and delegitimize opposition movements. <\/p>\n

The March 15 protest in Belgrade, has further highlighted the government\u2019s evolving suppression tactics. In the weeks leading up to the protest, the ruling SNS organized a counter-protest camp in front of the parliament, with its participants shielded by police corridors \u2013 ensuring their protection while attempting to delegitimize the opposition movement. At the same time, Vu\u010di\u0107 himself intensified threats of potentially escalating political violence. However, the most alarming development took place during the 15-minute silent vigil. Numerous protesters reported symptoms consistent with exposure to a Long-Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), a military-grade crowd control weapon that produces high-decibel noises and is illegal under Serbian law<\/a>.13<\/sup> The resulting confusion and distress triggered a massive stampede, which luckily did not result in any serious injuries. While the police have already officially denied using such a device<\/a>14<\/sup>, the incident remains under investigation by various human rights organizations, as it remains unclear what happened. At the same time, the Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office issued a statement warning that individuals spreading claims about the alleged use of LRAD will face prosecution<\/a>15<\/sup>, even though hundreds of people who were present have already contacted human rights organizations to report symptoms commonly associated with LRAD exposure and a petition for the UN investigation of the incident is ongoing<\/a>16<\/sup>. <\/p>\n

This is not the first attempt to criminalize protest and protesters over the years. The administration\u2018s intention to legally suppress dissent was recently further underlined through proposed amendments to the Serbian Criminal Code by the Ministry of Justice in October 2024. If passed, the laws would a) expand state control over online expression by introducing prison sentences for sharing or accessing content that could be interpreted as advising on criminal acts, b) broaden restrictions on information disclosure by redefining espionage laws to criminalize the disclosure of even low-level classified information, and c) weaken protection against police brutality by removing legal safeguards<\/a>.17<\/sup> <\/p>\n

The Long Struggle Against State Capture<\/h2>\n

The movements analyzed here have achieved significant successes across three key arenas. Firstly, all of them have continuously mobilized large numbers of people to the streets while bridging urban\/rural and generational divisions present in many other European movements. Secondly, they have achieved temporal successes in legal and political spheres, including for instance the temporal revocation of Rio Tinto\u2019s mining licenses. Finally, they gained widespread attention from international news outlets \u2013 albeit to a lesser extent in German media \u2013 amplifying their demands beyond the national frame. However, despite immense and recurring mobilization seen across multiple protest cycles, Vu\u010di\u0107 has remained in power. Why? We argue that his political longevity rests less on broad public support and more on backing from a \u201cpowerful few.\u201d Regulatory institutions, media networks and patronage systems all stand in service of the ruling SNS, effectively \u2018capturing\u2019 the state. <\/p>\n

State Capture<\/div>
State Capture refers to the infiltration of state institutions, political parties, and parliaments by clientelist networks that manipulate decision-making for private gain. In turn, individuals associated with these networks leverage the legitimacy of democratic institutions while subverting their function, leading to weakened rule of law, selective enforcement, and eroded public trust. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

Similarly, just as his domestic stability rests on the support of a \u201cpowerful few\u201d, Vu\u010di\u0107\u2018s regime is further legitimized by a few powerful external actors, as Chinese, Russian and EU actors continue to strengthen their economic and political ties with Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s government. Many EU and member state representatives \u2013 including Olaf Scholz and Ursula von der Leyen \u2013 have willingly overlooked authoritarian practices in favor of strategic economic partnerships, particularly in securing raw material supply chains. This dynamic may serve as one potential explanation for the relatively muted response from EU and German officials to the current situation in Serbia. This however undermines the democratic aspirations of Serbian protesters and contradicts the EU\u2019s self-image as an agent of democratic change in Serbia. At the same time, this uprising is unfolding in a broader European context where many countries are witnessing a rise in right-wing parties and movements. In some ways, Serbia\u2019s fight against a de facto authoritarian regime, though crucial, may be seen as less urgent in the eyes of Europe, which is not only preoccupied with its own internal political shifts, but also with its future role in a changing world order. <\/p>\n

Due to the effective state capture and the lack of international support so far, a lasting regime change in Serbia remains highly complex and uncertain, especially as the current movement has so far rejected political party involvement due to past disappointments. However, the current protests differ from past mobilizations in several crucial ways that may increase their transformative potential. Unlike previous movements, they have remained entirely nonviolent (from the protestors side) despite growing repression \u2013 an approach that has historically increased the likelihood of success in mass uprisings<\/a>.18<\/sup> Moreover, these protests are centered around corruption, a grievance that research suggests is particularly powerful for sustainable resistance<\/a>.19 <\/sup>As March 15 demonstrated, protesters are not only rejecting Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s authoritarian rule but also the system of corruption that upholds it, signaling a fundamental challenge to the regime\u2019s legitimacy; and the students and those who support them in the streets are making one thing clear: they will keep fighting. <\/p>\n

\n

\"PRIFDownload: Trpkovic, Mina; St\u00fchlen, Christin<\/span> (2025<\/span>): Uprisings in Serbia<\/span>. Struggle(s) against a resilient regime<\/span>, PRIF Spotlight<\/span>, 2<\/span>, Frankfurt\/M<\/span> . DOI: 10.48809\/prifspot2502<\/span> <\/a><\/p>\n

To Footnotes<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following the collapse of the recently renovated Novi Sad train station, which resulted in the death of 15 people, students across Serbia have been leading one of Europe\u2019s largest protest movements. After months of anti-corruption demonstrations demanding justice and government accountability, hundreds of thousands gathered in Belgrade on March 15, 2025, in what some call the largest mass protest in Serbia\u2019s history. While unprecedented in scale, these protests build on previous uprisings since 2018, driven by diverse causes, but united by a common thread \u2013 deep dissatisfaction with the corrupted state apparatus and Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s regime. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":367,"featured_media":12217,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1125,1112],"tags":[1133,1130,1131,1132],"coauthors":[1029,1083],"class_list":["post-12481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-en","category-prif-spotlight","tag-civil-society","tag-democracy","tag-protest-en","tag-social-movements"],"acf":[],"views":3550,"yoast_head":"\nUprisings in Serbia. Struggle(s) against a resilient regime - PRIF BLOG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.prif.org\/en\/2025\/03\/21\/uprisings-in-serbia-struggles-against-a-resilient-regime\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Uprisings in Serbia. Struggle(s) against a resilient regime - PRIF BLOG\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Following the collapse of the recently renovated Novi Sad train station, which resulted in the death of 15 people, students across Serbia have been leading one of Europe\u2019s largest protest movements. After months of anti-corruption demonstrations demanding justice and government accountability, hundreds of thousands gathered in Belgrade on March 15, 2025, in what some call the largest mass protest in Serbia\u2019s history. 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University students called on a protest asking for accountability of the Prosecutor General Zagorka Dolovac after fifteen people lost their lives in the collapse of the Novi Sad Railway Station canopy on 01 November 2024. The station building, which had been renovated and reopened on 05 July 2024, was undergoing further renovations shortly before the collapse. EPA-EFE\/ANDREJ CUKIC\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.prif.org\/en\/2025\/03\/21\/uprisings-in-serbia-struggles-against-a-resilient-regime\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blog.prif.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Uprisings in Serbia. 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Ihr Forschungsinteresse liegt an der Schnittstelle zwischen Internationalen Beziehungen, politischer Kommunikation und politischer Psychologie. Dabei untersucht sie insbesondere die Auswirkungen von Desinformationen auf die europ\u00e4ische Sicherheitsordnung. \/\/ Mina Trpkovic is a Doctoral Researcher in the LOEWE group and at PRIF\u2019s Research Department International Institutions. Her research interests lie at the intersection between IR, political communication, and political psychology. In particular, she analyzes the effects of disinformation on the European security order.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.prif.org\/en\/author\/mtrpkovic\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Uprisings in Serbia. 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