Student-led protests: Part of a broader fight for justice

Over the past two months, students in Serbia have led nationwide protests and institutional occupations, effectively bringing higher education – and the entire country – to a halt.

These student protests are the largest Serbia has had since the 1990s and, some say, could be the biggest student-led movement in Europe since 1968.

However, labelling these protests as either ‘pro-EU’ or ‘anti-Putin’, as some international commentators have hastily done, would be both misguided and overly simplistic. Rather, they are best described as an outcry against the systemic corruption, institutional abuse of power and widespread violence that has plagued Serbian society for over a decade.

Deadly collapse at station

The protests began as peaceful vigils honouring victims of a canopy collapse at the Novi Sad railway station, which killed 15 people and severely injured two. What started as weekly silent tributes soon evolved into mass protests where authorities were accused of corruption and negligence in the station’s reconstruction, and there were demands for transparency and accountability.

On 22 November, students and professors holding a vigil outside the faculty of dramatic arts in Belgrade were attacked by individuals linked to the ruling party. In response, students occupied the faculty, sparking a wave of student occupations across the country in solidarity. By mid-December, nearly all major higher education institutions in Serbia had been occupied.

Students have vowed to continue the occupation until the four major demands have been met:

• Full transparency regarding documentation related to the Novi Sad railway station reconstruction to identify potential corruption.

• Identification and prosecution of those responsible for attacking students and professors during peaceful vigils.

• The dropping of criminal charges against arrested student protesters and the halting of legal proceedings against them.

• A 20% increase in funding for higher education to improve student welfare, reduce tuition costs and enhance academic quality.

These demands have received widespread public support, including from academics, teachers, unions, farmers, artists, opposition leaders and the Serbian diaspora. However, more than two months later, the demands have not been met. Instead, the authorities have sought to undermine the movement through violence, manipulation and legal threats.

On Tuesday 28 January, Serbia’s prime minister Milos Vucevic resigned. This has, however, not placated the students because, as they say, this was not what they asked for. Many believe the government refuses to meet the protesters’ demands because doing so would expose high-level corruption, implicate key political figures and ultimately lead to its collapse.

Occupation strategy

Serbia has nearly 250,000 students, about 70% of whom attend one of 80 public university faculties. Today, almost all of these are occupied. The occupation is more than a symbolic gesture; it entails halting all academic activities and blocking faculty buildings to prevent external interference and safeguard the protesters’ autonomy.

To maintain the occupation, students have essentially transformed faculty buildings into living spaces with dormitories, kitchens and communal areas. Effectively, higher education institutions have become hubs for political engagement, civil disobedience, learning and planning. Governance within these occupied faculties is conducted through direct democracy in the form of student plenums, where every student has an equal voice.

The broader community has so far provided remarkable support, with citizens donating food, blankets and essential supplies. Restaurants, farmers, unions and businesses have all contributed to helping students in various ways and, in doing so, have helped to sustain the occupation.

But the occupations haven’t interrupted learning and education. On the contrary. Next to regular plenums, students organise workshops, guest lectures by professors and public figures, debates, theatre performances, book discussions and various other activities. Among them are also preparations for street actions and marches, which are a critical part of these protests.

Street protests

Alongside faculty occupations, students have maintained a daily presence in the streets. Every day at 11.52am – the time of the canopy collapse – people across Serbia step onto the streets to hold silent vigils, halting the traffic for 15 minutes. The marches have become more frequent and ever larger, spreading to Serbia’s smallest towns. The 15-minute vigils and street protests have also taken place abroad, in cities like New York, London and Berlin.

Student street demonstrations typically have a theme and a message related to their demands. In one of them, students marched to the state prosecutor’s office where they delivered 1,000 identical protest letters. Outside the building, they read aloud excerpts from the prosecutor’s oath, highlighting her failure to uphold justice.

To prevent co-optation, students strictly prohibit the use of national symbols other than the Serbian flag. No EU flags or external political affiliations are allowed, ensuring that the focus remains on their demands rather than external political narratives.

In December, students organised one of Serbia’s largest-ever demonstrations, drawing approximately 100,000 people to Belgrade’s Slavija Square. In January, a general strike saw participation from schools and many businesses. Several days later, with the help of farmers and citizens, students organised a 24-hour-long blockade of one of Belgrade’s largest intersections.

And this week more than a thousand students are marching from Belgrade to Novi Sad, where on 1st February they will organise a 24-hour blockade of three bridges to mark the three-month anniversary of the canopy collapse.

Worldwide solidarity

While these protests are deeply rooted in Serbian realities, they resonate globally as part of a broader struggle for justice, democracy and accountability. They highlight the role of students and academic institutions in society, which is especially critical when political institutions fail to not only uphold the rule of law but directly endanger the lives of citizens.

More than 5,000 academic staff members in Serbia have signed a letter supporting the student demands. Rectors and deans at all major universities are behind the students as well. The European Students’ Union and the Circle U university alliance have both expressed strong support for the students in Serbia and their demands.

Academics anywhere in the world can show their solidarity with the students in Serbia by signing this petition, launched by international students from Serbia, and spreading the word.

Jelena Brankovic is a senior researcher at the Robert K Merton Center for Science Studies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany. She is an alumna of the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade, Serbia. You can follow her on Bluesky. This text is an edited version of a recent article published in Wonkhe.

This article is a commentary. Commentary articles are the opinion of the author and do not necessariy reflect the views of University World News.