DiEM25 co-founder Srećko Horvat spoke in a detailed interview with N1 news channel about the ongoing massive student protests taking place in Serbia

For the past three months, we’ve been trying to unravel the biggest mystery unfolding before us: What is happening in Serbia? No one has been able to provide a fully consistent answer, as crucial details are still missing. Without the usual chants of uprisings — “Down with the government!” — Serbia has seen its government collapse in an unexpected way.

With just one phrase directed at the country’s ultimate authority — “You have no legitimacy!” — students managed to push president Aleksandar Vučić to hold a rally in Sremska Mitrovica instead of addressing their demands. And yet, rather than losing momentum, the protests continue to spread.

Is this just a rebellion? A shift in political paradigms? A prelude to a change in leadership or even an entire system? Or something entirely new?

My guest today has long held a simple belief — as long as there is injustice, there will be resistance. I speak with philosopher, writer, and political activist Srećko Horvat, just two days after a major protest in Kragujevac, as preparations begin for another large demonstration in Niš.

The biggest democratic movement in Europe today

N1: You’ve been closely following events in Serbia over the past three months. As I mentioned in the introduction, we still don’t have a clear answer on where all this is heading. Perhaps from your perspective, things look a bit different. What would you say — what is happening in Serbia?

Srećko Horvat: First of all, like many in Croatia, I’ve been following the situation in Serbia closely. Over the past months, various universities and cities in Croatia have shown support for the movement. There’s even a joke circulating here: How is it that Serbs are protesting while we Croats can only protest by staying home? This is a reference to the so-called store protests happening in Croatia recently.

But jokes aside, there is significant interest in Serbia’s protests and strong support — not just for students but for everyone taking part in the occupations and demonstrations. I would go as far as to say that this is the most significant democratic movement in Europe today. In fact, it might be the largest student movement since 1968.

And while their demands may sound simple, this is not just about changing a government — it’s about a deep, systemic protest.

What fascinates me, as someone observing from across the border and who has spent the past two decades engaging with these topics — including my own participation in the 2009 blockade of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb — is the sheer cynicism of the so-called West, but also of the East.

Let’s take the West as an example. Imagine this thought experiment: if right now, there were protests in over 200 cities across Germany, with more than 60 universities blocked for over three months, and a movement practicing direct democracy — this would be the top global news story. Every major media outlet would be covering it.

But since I’ve been following the situation, I’ve noticed that international media has only recently begun reporting on the Serbian protests — just in the past few days or maybe two weeks. The question is: Why? Where does this cynicism come from?

Moreover, I wouldn’t say it’s just cynicism — it’s about interests. The West has no real interest in a democratic revolution in Serbia. Their priority is lithium.

Similarly, we could say that Putin also has no interest in supporting these protests — although he blames the West, his primary concern is Serbia’s resources. From a geopolitical perspective, this uprising and these occupations are incredibly significant.

“If this movement were happening in Germany — with 200 cities involved and 60 universities blocked — it would be world news. But democracy in Serbia isn’t in the West’s interest. They’re more concerned about lithium.”

A protest with no geopolitical backing

N1: One local political analyst described the Serbian protests as “geopolitical orphans.” Unlike past uprisings, no major power is supporting them. Do you agree?

Horvat: In a way, yes, and I think that’s entirely understandable. We’ve just mentioned the European Union, Russia — you’ve probably followed the Munich Security Conference in recent days, where discussions touched on who the next U.S. ambassador to Serbia might be. The leading candidate, Rod Blagojevich, spent eight years in prison for corruption, and now he could be appointed as ambassador to a country that has been protesting against corruption for the past three months.

If you look at the geopolitical situation as a whole, you might even call it a surreal scene — what some refer to as Trump’s Riviera, stretching from Gaza to Belgrade’s General Staff headquarters. Wherever you look, you see the geopolitical interests of the West, the EU, Russia, China, and the U.S.

And in that context, these protests — led primarily by students — are an extraordinary event precisely because they are geopolitical orphans. They serve no major power’s strategic interests. In fact, global players would rather see Serbia remain under a strongman’s rule — just as they have preferred with many other authoritarian leaders before.

“These protests are a massive event precisely because they are ‘geopolitical orphans’ — they serve no major power’s interest. It’s easier for global players to maintain the status quo.”

N1: In a way, Vučić seems to be the perfect example of the geopolitical dynamics of our time — far more so than the students, wouldn’t you say?

Horvat: Absolutely. And yet, the students are the true avant-garde of this moment — not just in Serbia, but in Europe as a whole — because they’ve revived a form of organising that isn’t, as some claim, an imported concept from Croatia. It existed here long before that.

The first plenum (open assembly) in Serbia, if I’m not mistaken, emerged in 2006 at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. If Serbian leaders insist that this form of direct democracy is being imported from Croatia, then by the same logic, we could say it was imported from France. After all, do they remember the Paris Commune of 1871? It was already practicing plenums, working groups, and direct democracy back then.

If we go even further back in history, there’s a book published both in Serbia and Croatia — The Dawn of Everything by British archaeologist David Wengrow and anthropologist David Graeber — which argues that societies have been experimenting with far more progressive forms of democracy for thousands of years.

So what Serbian students are doing today isn’t an isolated or foreign idea. They are building upon a tradition that spans centuries — perhaps even millennia — of people fighting to participate in shaping their own present and future.

This is not just another protest — it’s a systemic challenge

N1: The Government’s attempt to discredit the plenums by labeling them as manipulated political tools is completely unfounded — that much is clear. But what has now been elevated to the highest political level, particularly after the rally in Sremska Mitrovica, is the claim that this is a so-called colour revolution. Vučić is now threatening to fight against colour revolutions everywhere, vowing that he won’t allow such uprisings to receive any support. In fact, just a few days ago, he even announced that he plans to write a book about how he defeated a colour revolution.

Now, traditionally, colour revolutions have been movements that fought for democratic values, European integration, against dictatorships and autocracies, for civil and human rights. What, in your opinion, is really happening here?

Horvat: First, let’s recall the ongoing protests in Georgia. You’ll remember that late last year, the President of the European Commission publicly responded to those demonstrations, stating that the Georgian people are fighting for democracy.

Now, have you heard Ursula von der Leyen — or any other European leader — say the Serbian people are fighting for democracy? You haven’t. And once again, we return to the same issues — lithium, resources, and geopolitical interests.

When you hear both Putin and Vučić using the phrase colour revolution and, at the same time, see the cynicism and silence of European elites, you can be absolutely certain that this is not a colour revolution — not in the sense of those past movements, some of which were indeed driven by foreign intelligence operations.

But more importantly, what is happening in Serbia is fundamentally different from previous colour revolutions. This is not just a fight for democracy in the conventional sense, nor simply a protest against autocracy or for freedom of speech and civil rights.

From what I’ve observed, this is an anti-systemic movement.

When I say anti-systemic, I mean that students no longer believe in representative democracy as it currently functions — that is, the idea that every four years, we rotate political figures between prime minister and president, yet nothing fundamentally changes. They no longer believe that this is a meaningful form of democracy. And they are absolutely right.

Because if we take a step back and look at the European Union, the United States, Russia, or China — nowhere do we see the kind of democracy that people actually strive for.

This is the geopolitical void we find ourselves in. And right now, Serbian students are not just resisting the existing system — they are offering a radically democratic alternative.

“This movement isn’t just about democracy versus autocracy. It’s about challenging the entire system — because students no longer believe that rotating leaders every four years is real democracy.”

Students have already succeeded

N1: Right. But to what extent can this movement realistically succeed, given the circumstances? When I say succeed, I mean this uprising that you call anti-systemic.

Horvat: I believe they have already succeeded. We should not underestimate the significance of these three months of political awakening.

These young people — no matter what I say, they are smarter than me. They understand better. They are the ones standing on the barricades — I am not. And in these three months, they have undergone a deeper educational transformation than they would have in any university or school.

Because they have learned through lived experience — through marching from Belgrade to Novi Sad — what it means to stand together, to organise together, to fight for justice together. Not just to be against something, but to be for something.

In a way, they have reawakened something that once existed in this region — solidarity, self-organisation, even elements of self-management. And no matter how flawed self-management may have been in the past, no matter its failures, this tradition is not foreign to these lands.

Think back to the resistance against the Nazis, against fascists, against the Ustaše, against the Chetniks. Think of that struggle — when, from 1943 onwards, from Jajce to Foča, all the way to the island of Vis, self-organised councils emerged. There were theaters, there were cultural troupes, there was education taking place in caves.

What we are witnessing now is, I believe, another form of self-education — one that should not be underestimated.

And whether or not the current government falls, or, in the worst case, if there is bloodshed — that does not mean they have failed. These events are part of a much longer historical sequence, something that will undoubtedly shape the years to come.

The students leading this movement, along with those who have joined them, will play a central role in transforming society.

“Students have gone through a deeper educational revolution in three months than they would in years at university. They have learned what it means to stand together, to fight not just against something, but for something.”

Tears across the region — what do they mean?

N1: I can’t help but ask — this isn’t just happening in Serbia; the entire region is showing support. Citizens from Split to Sarajevo, from Montenegro to Kosovo, are standing in solidarity. Just look at that banner in Split, written in Cyrillic — that alone is a huge step forward compared to past years.

But what I find striking about these protests, both in Serbia and across the region, is the collective crying. It’s as if people are overwhelmed — not just by sorrow, but maybe by relief, by the realisation that they’ve finally taken a step forward. Is it grief? Is it joy? Is it some deep emotional release that simply cannot happen without tears?

I’ve seen this across the region. How do you interpret it?

Horvat: I believe it’s a reaction to the so-called transition — a process that has now dragged on for over 30 years and seems endless. And as we know, in reality, this transition has meant nothing but the looting of public property — first from state ownership into private hands.

One of the most moving moments for me was seeing a pharmacist in Belgrade — where pharmacies have also joined the protests — holding a sign that read: “Medicine is not a commodity.”

That immediately reminded me of one of the main slogans from the 2009 student protests in Zagreb, when over 20 faculties were occupied, and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences was blocked for 35 days. The slogan then was: “Knowledge is not a commodity.”

And when you put these two statements side by side — “Medicine is not a commodity.” and “Knowledge is not a commodity.” — it becomes clear why the protests in Serbia are resonating so strongly beyond its borders.

Because all of us — in Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo — are victims of the same transition, the same process of privatisation.

It started with higher education in Croatia. We managed to slow it down for a while, but now it’s back on the table. Just the other day, students at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb relaunched a plenum to fight against tuition hikes and student fees. There are even talks of new occupations.

In the 1990s, while people were dying on the battlefields across the region, factories were being looted and privatised. Then came the turn of natural resources. Then education. Then healthcare. And now, the message from the protests is clear: Medicine is not a commodity.

So while the specific causes for the blockades and occupations in Serbia may differ from those of the 2009 protests in Croatia, they are, in their own way, what Hegel would call a concrete universality — they are an expression of a struggle that unites us all, one that lays our shared problems bare.

And I believe that the methods we are seeing in Serbia — whether it’s occupations, blockades, or even boycotts — are steps toward a new kind of political organisation. One that emerges in a context where people no longer believe in old parties, new parties, the opposition, or any of the traditional political structures.

Can we return to the old normal?

N1: That’s exactly what I want to ask you — do you think that after all this, there is any going back? The students have, in a way, seized the right to rebel, even though that right is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They’ve taken it into their own hands, and this movement has spilled over into the entire region, where people recognise the same problems.

For decades, our governments have kept us trapped in the narratives of past wars. But now, after these protests — regardless of their outcome, whether they succeed or not — can we really go back to that black hole?

Horvat: Of course, you can always go back to the black hole. Even in physics, a black hole is something that pulls you in, no matter what you do.

And of course, things can take an even darker turn. Not every social transformation ends in emancipation. History shows us that these moments of upheaval are often exploited by fascists. Just look at Gabriele D’Annunzio and the occupation of Rijeka in 1919 — an event that Igor Bezinović recently explored in his highly acclaimed film. You had a post-war situation, a society filled with deserters, economic despair, hyperinflation, and then along comes a prophet who proclaims himself the new leader.

Now, I’m not saying that will necessarily happen in Serbia, but my point is this: beyond the black hole, there is always the possibility of something even worse.

That said, as I’ve already emphasised, we must not underestimate the political awakening that has taken place. This movement is no longer just about students — it has grown far beyond that. From pharmacies to farmers, it has permeated every layer of society.

For the past several months, this has been happening continuously. It is not just a moment, not just a passing wave. It has spread beyond the so-called inner circle of Belgrade, reaching Novi Sad, Kragujevac, and — so I hear — soon Niš as well.

This is not something that will simply disappear overnight.

N1: When I talk about going back, I also mean the region as a whole — the region that has been trapped in war narratives for decades, narratives that our governments use to keep us divided.

But now, Serbian students — and the responses from different countries in the region — seem to have broken that cycle, at least for a moment. Even the blockade of supermarket chains, which started in Serbia, has now been embraced as a regional action. It feels like, for the first time in a long time, ordinary people — not governments — are making progress together.

Do you think these steps forward can become permanent? Or is there still a chance that we will fall back into the old stagnation, into nationalist divisions and mutual hatred?

Horvat: That risk always exists.

I’ve been fortunate — or unfortunate — to have witnessed many protest movements in my lifetime. From Greece to Occupy Wall Street, from Tunisia to Egypt, from the student blockades in Croatia and beyond. Look at Syriza in Greece — there was an incredible surge of enthusiasm, and yet, in the end, we saw how quickly they capitulated to the European establishment and the banks.

That’s why, while we should absolutely support this movement, we must also step back for a moment and think critically. Enthusiasm can turn into exhaustion. Energy can fade. And the demands for real change might never be realised.

Why? Because what we’re talking about here isn’t just a regional issue. This trend — of creeping authoritarianism, of economic stagnation, of the rise of far-right movements — is happening everywhere.

Look at Germany. The richest man in the world is backing Alternative für Deutschland, a neo-Nazi party. Look at the growing militarisation of societies worldwide, the normalisation of political violence. Look at Trump, who openly talks on television about relocating two million people from Gaza, who once wanted to buy Greenland, or who casually suggests renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

This isn’t just about the Balkans. It’s a global trend.

Of course, our region has its own unique history. We live here, we understand it. We know that when those in power want to distract from economic issues, they always turn back to tradition, national identity, and old conflicts.

But there’s something even deeper than nationalism at play here — capitalism itself.

Liberal representative democracy, as we know it, is a product of capitalism. And in the end, you’re always trapped in the same cycle.

Because what happens after a movement like this? What happens after an oppressive leader falls?

Usually, the opposition gathers itself, steps in to replace them, and the cycle repeats. A radical democratic movement eventually gets absorbed into the system, transforming back into the same representative democracy that never actually questions who owns what, who controls what, how resources are distributed.

That’s my biggest fear.

But what gives me hope is that I see many students today who understand this. They’re not just opposing corruption in an abstract sense — they recognise that corruption is not just an aberration of the system, it is an essential feature of capitalism.

And not just capitalism — corruption exists in socialism, too. That’s a separate conversation we could have. But at its core, it is a systemic issue.

And what I see now, in this movement, is that more and more people are beginning to understand that.

“For decades, Balkan governments have kept people trapped in war narratives. These protests are breaking that cycle, showing that our struggles are the same.”

A movement that can shape the future

N1: I need to bring this conversation back to Europe as we wrap up. You’ve probably seen the recent debates in the European Parliament. MEPs from Croatia, Slovenia, and other European countries have voiced their support for Serbian students. But the European Commission has remained silent.

We’ve seen this before. The European Parliament wanted to support the Serbian opposition after election fraud in previous years, but in the end, nothing came of it.

Do you think this time will be different? Can this movement — much larger than the anti-lithium protests or the Serbia Against Violence demonstrations — finally push the European Commission to act, at least as much as it did in support of the protesters in Georgia?

Horvat: I’m not sure.

At some point, the reality will change — when the European Commission and the European establishment become convinced that the current Serbian government has no future.

When that moment comes, they’ll start looking for new allies. Not because of democratic principles, but because both the European Commission and Germany’s auto industry need Serbian lithium. Their priority is keeping business as usual.

And, of course, Serbia remains geopolitically positioned between East and West, between Russia, China, and the EU.

So yes, at some point, they will offer their support — just as they did in Georgia. But I don’t think that’s something students should be striving for.

N1: But they aren’t counting on Europe anyway. This is the first major protest movement in Serbia where the EU isn’t even mentioned. No one is calling for EU intervention at the rallies.

Horvat: Exactly. And I’ve already explained why.

People in Serbia see how Europe is responding — or rather, how it isn’t responding. But we also have to be cautious. The alternative isn’t found in Russia or China either.

That makes this situation even more unique, more precarious, and in some ways, more isolated geopolitically.

But I believe the future of this movement isn’t in waiting for the EU’s support — it’s in connecting with other movements.

Look at Germany — hundreds of thousands of people have protested against AfD (Alternative für Deutschland). Look at labor movements across Europe.

Of course, this is a massive undertaking, and no one expects students to do this work alone.

But what they are doing right now is showing the way forward.

If Europe wants a future, it should be looking at them.

“If Europe wants a future, it should be looking to these students. They are showing the way.”

Do you want to be informed of DiEM25's actions? Sign up here