At the XVII RECOM Forum, held on 12–13 December 2025 in Zagreb, one of the most dynamic panels focused on the student protests in Serbia and the question of whether they have the capacity to overcome inherited identity narratives from the wars of the 1990s.
As noted in the opening of the panel by the moderator, Professor Aleksandar Maršavelski of the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, the protests emerged as a response to corruption, violence and authoritarian governance rather than to ethnic or identity issues. Nevertheless, graffiti such as “No Surrender,” “We Won’t Give Up Kosovo,” and “Aco Šiptare” (insulting Vučić using an anti-Albanian slur) have appeared during the protests, demonstrating how strongly the narratives of the past remain present in society.
Students spoke about the limits of the protests, the nationalist messages sometimes heard on the streets, the presence of war veterans who occasionally stand between the police and the protesters, the relationship with the European Union, as well as their own dilemmas regarding the past.
The protest’s capacity for transformative change
Most students believe that the protests do not have the capacity to transform dominant narratives about the past. The main focus of the movement is the restoration of institutions and democratic procedures.
Mila Pajić, a student of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad (currently in exile), believes that the protests lack transformative power when it comes to transitional justice, reconciliation with the past, or even raising awareness. “The protest did not emerge because of the past. It emerged because of the present — because of violence, corruption and the way this state functions.”
At the same time, she noted that protesters also express messages calling for solidarity and different relations among people. During demonstrations one can hear slogans about solidarity, unity and interethnic cooperation, as well as messages that society must no longer be divided and that past crimes must never be repeated. “But all of that remains at the level of slogans.”
Pajić also warned that the lack of knowledge about the wars of the 1990s represents a serious problem for the generation now entering political life. Referring to the recent media controversy surrounding the so-called “Sarajevo safari,” she pointed out that the issue had prompted many young people to begin discussing the siege of Sarajevo — something previously little known among them. At the same time, she warned about the dangers of politicizing such accusations. If it turned out that the allegation was false, she said, people might begin to question other already established facts about the wars of the 1990s.
A similar view was expressed by Branislav Đorđević, a student of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad (also currently in exile). According to him, the student movement does not have the strength to initiate transformative social change on its own. “The movement is designed to bring us into a kind of pre-democratic phase, where we would have a transitional government or something similar that would lead to functioning institutions, so that only later we could deal with transitional justice.”
Jovan Dražić, another student from the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad (in exile), argued that the protests have a limited political reach. “A student protest can open space for political change, but it cannot by itself transform society.”
Professors: institutions as the first step
The three professors who participated in the panel alongside the students share the view that the protests are primarily focused on establishing accountable institutions. Professor Ana Martinoli of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade emphasized that the priorities of the student movement lie in rebuilding institutions. “The most important thing is to build institutions that function. Without that, there is no space for serious social change.”
A similar position was expressed by Stevan Filipović, also a professor at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. In his view, political transformation is a long process. “Only when you have functioning institutions can you expect changes in how society deals with the past.”
Nataša Milićević, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, pointed out that dealing with the past comes only in a later phase of social change. “The priority is building the state and its institutions. Only after that can transformative change begin.”
The conclusion of the discussion was that student protests may open space for political change, but cannot directly transform dominant historical narratives.
Nationalist slogans at the protests
Another topic discussed was the appearance of nationalist messages during the protests. Branislav Đorđević was particularly critical of such slogans. Referring to the chant “Aco Šiptare,” he said: “We cannot flirt with these things. We advocate solidarity and human rights, yet people chant ‘Aco Šiptare,’ which court rulings have already recognized as a criminal offense.”
In his view, a movement that seeks to establish democratic standards must speak openly about the wars of the 1990s. “For years we have been careful not to say that what happened in Srebrenica was genocide, because someone might get offended. Let them be offended — and let them grow up.”
Lana Kocić, a student at the Faculty of Law in Niš, believes that the chant “Aco Šiptare” is not directed against Albanians. “I am almost certain that people do not chant it because they think Albanians are bad people, but because they believe Aleksandar Vučić is acting in their interest.”
War veterans at the protests
Another important issue was the presence of war veterans at the protests. Students noted that veterans sometimes play an ambivalent role — on the one hand protecting protesters from police violence, and on the other representing the generation that participated in the wars of the 1990s.
Branislav Đorđević stressed that the problem lies not with the individuals themselves but with the glorification of uniforms. “The point is to get rid of those uniforms. The point is to rehabilitate those people so they no longer carry the scars of that war and can tell us their stories, so we do not repeat the same mistakes. Not to glorify uniforms.”
Personal-level social change
Davud Delimeđac, a student of the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, pointed out that the generation protesting today is deeply shaped by the legacy of wars and sanctions. “In the Balkans, this is a generation that is a product of wars and sanctions… We are deeply connected to those events, and we do not just study them — we live them. They are part of our identity. We must deal with transitional justice because we ourselves are a product of transitional justice.”
He also shared a moment that for him symbolized a change brought about by the protests. When students from Novi Pazar marched toward Kragujevac to participate in a large protest on 15 February 2025, he uttered a sentence that later began circulating widely among students and the public. “At this moment, the students of Novi Pazar feel for the first time that they are citizens of the Republic of Serbia.”
According to Delimeđac, that sentence encouraged students from Novi Pazar to carry the Bosniak flag of Sandžak openly at the next protest. “That was the moment when I realized that perhaps something had begun to change in people’s minds.” He concluded that the student movement, regardless of its eventual political outcome, has already produced a certain kind of change at the personal level.
“In my eyes, Serbia is becoming a better country. Over the past year we have all become more empathetic and compassionate. We have started crying in the streets, and it seems to me that we have individually become better people — and that is enough for me, whatever happens with everything else.”
The relationship with the European Union
Toward the end of the panel, students discussed the European Union’s response to the protests. Several participants expressed disappointment that, despite police repression, the EU continues to maintain political cooperation primarily with the Serbian authorities.
Boris Kojčinović, who recently graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, was explicit that the EU is often discussed “with gloves on,” and that its reaction was not as immediate as it is sometimes portrayed. “We pretend that the European Union reacted immediately, that it immediately recognized what was happening in Serbia – as if there were no foreign policy interests or other political considerations.”
He also raised a key question about the EU’s relationship with the Serbian authorities and the student movement. “How is he [Vučić] then a better interlocutor for the European Union than the student movement, which they may or may not know is striving toward the EU?” Kojčinović also noted that the European flag rarely appears at the protests because the regime has portrayed the EU negatively through the media.
Natalija Petrović, a student at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, described how the media campaign against students functions. “The regime has portrayed the European Union as something bad through the media. No citizen of Serbia, no matter how educated, is immune to propaganda.”
As an example, she cited a tabloid article in Informer in which students attending the RECOM Forum in Zagreb were labeled “Serb-haters” who support recognition of the Srebrenica genocide and Kosovo’s independence.
Petrović also recalled student initiatives that received little response from European institutions. “We rode bicycles for fourteen days to Strasbourg, we ran an ultramarathon to Brussels – and we received no reaction. The European Parliament resolution came far too late. We felt disappointed.”
Davud Delimeđac pointed to another paradox in Serbia’s relationship with the EU. “It is very discouraging, but statistics show that support for the European Union in 2001, two years after the NATO bombing, was higher than it is today.”
In the closing remarks, moderator Aleksandar Maršavelski warned that although the protests are important, they cannot by themselves bring about political change. “Without communication and cooperation with the European Union, it is difficult to expect a change of regime.”
The panel showed that the student movement in Serbia brings together a generation that is politically aware and ready to critically examine society. At the same time, both students and professors agree that protests alone cannot transform dominant narratives about the past, and that their primary goal remains the restoration of institutions and democratic governance.
Peščanik.net, 10.03.2026.
