In the heart of the Balkans, Serbia is witnessing its most turbulent wave of protests in a quarter of a century, threatening to upend the decade-long rule of President Aleksandar Vucic. What began as a modest, student-led campaign against corruption has rapidly evolved into a nationwide movement, drawing in citizens from all walks of life and putting unprecedented pressure on a government long accused of authoritarianism and cronyism.
The spark that ignited this unrest was a tragic event on November 1, 2024. In the northern city of Novi Sad, a canopy at the railway station—part of a Chinese-backed renovation project—collapsed, killing at least 16 people. According to the Associated Press, the incident immediately fueled public outrage, with allegations of state-run corruption and negligence swirling around the project. University students were the first to act, blocking traffic every Friday for 15 minutes in memory of the victims. Their simple gesture of remembrance quickly became a rallying cry, resonating far beyond campus gates.
As weeks passed, the protests swelled in size and scope. Ordinary citizens, frustrated by rising living costs and a pervasive sense of impunity among the ruling-party elite, joined the students in demanding accountability, transparency, and early elections. What started as peaceful marches and sit-ins soon transformed into a broader movement—one that now spans dozens of cities and small towns across Serbia. According to Arab Times, this is the largest public challenge to Vucic’s grip on power since he took office.
The authorities’ response has been anything but conciliatory. Riot police, plainclothes officers, and even parapolice units—led by soccer hooligans loyal to Vucic—have been deployed to disperse gatherings. Protesters report beatings, arbitrary arrests, and the use of tear gas, stun grenades, and sonic devices. Human rights organizations have condemned these tactics as brutal and excessive, while opposition leaders warn that the government’s heavy-handed approach only fuels further defiance.
“Each new crackdown has drawn more people into the streets, creating a cycle of confrontation,” notes the Associated Press. Students have escalated their actions, blocking major intersections, occupying university halls, and staging sit-ins outside state institutions. The government, for its part, has responded by dismissing more than 100 teachers, professors, and deans—replacing them with loyalists. While some schools have reopened with new staff, others remain shuttered, particularly certain university faculties.
President Vucic, a political survivor with a talent for reinvention, finds himself at the center of this storm. His career began in the 1990s as a hardline nationalist in the Serbian Radical Party, where he served as information minister under Slobodan Milosevic. Notorious for his wartime rhetoric and calls to punish independent media, Vucic later recast himself as a pro-European reformer. Co-founding the Serbian Progressive Party, he promised modernization and EU integration. Yet, as both AP and Arab Times report, he has consolidated power through populism, media control, and a tight grip on state institutions.
Now, faced with the most serious challenge to his rule, Vucic has escalated his rhetoric and actions. He has branded the student protesters as "terrorists" allegedly backed by Western powers—though he has provided no evidence for these claims. While he has offered dialogue, he has steadfastly refused to call early elections. Students, in turn, have flatly rejected talks that do not include a commitment to early voting.
In a dramatic show of force, tanks rolled through the streets of Belgrade in early September, ostensibly in preparation for a military parade scheduled for September 20, 2025. But for many protesters, the military’s presence is a chilling reminder of Serbia’s authoritarian past, and they fear the troops may remain on the streets if unrest continues. As one protester put it, the parade could easily become a flashpoint for further violence.
Vucic’s foreign policy has only added to the complexity of the crisis. While under intense domestic pressure, he has continued to project Serbia as a strategic player between East and West. On September 1, 2025, he attended a summit with leaders from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran—receiving their support in handling the protests at home. Despite refusing to join international sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Vucic has not blocked Serbian exports of weapons to Ukraine, and earlier this year, he made his first-ever visit to Kyiv. This delicate balancing act reflects Serbia’s longstanding tradition of hedging its bets between global powers, but it has also contributed to the sense of uncertainty at home.
Europe’s response to the crisis has been notably muted. Serbia has been a candidate for EU membership since 2012, but progress has been slow. EU officials have warned that reforms in the judiciary, media freedom, and anti-corruption measures are prerequisites for further integration. Yet, as the Associated Press notes, many in the Serbian opposition—and some EU lawmakers—believe that Brussels has been too timid in its response. The prevailing view among European officials appears to be that only Vucic can preserve stability in a region still haunted by the wars of the 1990s, which left over 100,000 dead and millions homeless.
Meanwhile, Vucic has openly advocated for the closure of the last remaining independent TV outlets, N1 and Nova, or at least a purge of their reporters and management. He has labeled them liars for their coverage of the protests, despite the fact that their broadcasts largely consist of live footage with minimal editorial intervention. This campaign against the media has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups, who see it as part of a broader attempt to silence dissent and centralize power.
At its core, the current wave of protests is about more than just corruption or a tragic accident in Novi Sad. Demonstrators are demanding free elections, an independent judiciary, and accountability for police violence. They see themselves as standing up not only for their own rights, but for the future of Serbian democracy. As the Associated Press reports, "The anti-graft rallies have become more than just a fight against corruption. They are now a direct challenge to Vucic’s heavy-handed rule."
With neither side showing signs of backing down, Serbia faces a deepening political crisis. The risks are real: further unrest, escalation of violence, and even bloodshed. The coming weeks—especially as the military parade approaches—will be critical in determining whether the government can weather this storm, or whether the protesters’ demands for change will finally break through a system that has resisted reform for so long.
As the country waits, the stakes could hardly be higher. The outcome of this struggle will shape not only Serbia’s future, but the stability of the wider Balkan region.