For more than ten months, the streets of Serbia have echoed with chants for change, as student-led demonstrations have evolved into a nationwide movement challenging President Aleksandar Vucic’s decade-long grip on power. What began as a somber call for justice after a tragic accident has spiraled into the most significant political crisis the Balkan country has faced in a quarter-century, drawing in tennis legend Novak Djokovic, European officials, and rival camps of ordinary citizens.
The spark that ignited this turmoil was a catastrophe on November 1, 2024. In the northern city of Novi Sad, a newly renovated train station—part of a Chinese-backed project under the Belt and Road Initiative—suffered a deadly collapse. The 48-meter concrete canopy crashed down, killing at least 16 people and shattering any remaining public trust in government oversight. According to The Times and Al Jazeera, the project’s rapid completion and subsequent failure became a symbol of what many Serbians saw as official negligence and corruption. The anger was palpable, and university students were the first to act, blocking traffic every Friday for 15 minutes to honor the victims and demand accountability.
But the tragedy was only the beginning. The protests quickly spread, drawing in citizens from dozens of cities and towns across Serbia. Calls for a transparent investigation, accountability, and early elections grew louder, especially as longstanding frustrations over economic hardship, corruption, and democratic backsliding came to the fore. As Los Angeles Times reported, the movement’s momentum only increased when the government responded with a heavy hand. Riot police, plainclothes officers, and even soccer hooligans loyal to Vucic were deployed to break up peaceful demonstrations. Protesters described beatings, arbitrary arrests, and the use of tear gas and stun grenades. Rights groups and opposition figures condemned the tactics as excessive and brutal.
President Vucic, a figure whose political journey began in the 1990s as a hard-line nationalist and who later recast himself as a pro-European reformer, has not shied away from confrontation. He has repeatedly branded the protesters as “terrorists,” accusing them of conspiring with Western powers to destabilize Serbia—claims for which he has provided no evidence. “The anti-government protests are clear acts of terrorism endangering the state,” Vucic declared in August, according to The Times. Despite calls for dialogue, he has refused to call early elections and warned of even harsher crackdowns if the unrest continues.
The government’s response has gone beyond the streets. More than 100 university professors, teachers, and deans have been dismissed and replaced with loyalists, leaving some schools shuttered and others operating under new leadership. The crackdown has only fueled defiance among the protesters, who have escalated their actions by blocking intersections, occupying university halls, and staging sit-ins at state institutions. The cycle of confrontation has drawn more and more Serbians into the streets, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and tension.
As the crisis deepened, the protests began to attract international attention—and not just from human rights organizations. Serbian tennis superstar Novak Djokovic, a national icon with 24 Grand Slam titles to his name, publicly voiced his support for the protesters. In December 2024, Djokovic stated, “I believe in the power of the younger generation and their desire for a better future. Their voices must be heard.” His words, reported by The Times, resonated with many but also drew the ire of pro-government media, who labeled him a “traitor” and even raised doping allegations against him. The backlash was so severe that Djokovic reportedly began preparing to relocate abroad, scouting homes in Greece and enrolling his children in a local school—a move that stunned the nation and highlighted the depth of Serbia’s divisions.
The government’s stance has only hardened as the months have passed. In January 2025, Prime Minister Miloš Vučević resigned, but hopes for a political reset were quickly dashed when authorities continued to ignore demands for early elections and a transparent investigation into the Novi Sad disaster. Instead, President Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party ramped up efforts to organize counterprotests, seeking to demonstrate that he still commands significant support. On September 13, 2025, tanks rolled through Belgrade in preparation for a military parade, raising fears that the military might remain on the streets if unrest continues. That same day, rallies and counterprotests unfolded across the country, with police separating the two camps and brief scuffles erupting in the capital as riot police pushed back antigovernment demonstrators.
The European Union, for its part, has watched warily from the sidelines. Serbia has been a candidate for EU membership since 2012, but negotiations have stalled amid concerns about the rule of law, judiciary independence, and media freedoms. On September 8, 2025, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos commented, “We have a problem in Belgrade. The people have the right to protest. The severe violence on the streets of Serbia, the many acts of vandalism, must stop. We expect the police to act appropriately and respect fundamental rights.” Despite these words, critics argue that Europe’s response has been too muted, with some EU lawmakers warning that Vucic’s centralization of power and suppression of dissent threaten Serbia’s democratic future.
Internationally, Vucic has played a careful balancing act. While refusing to join Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, he has maintained ties with both the EU and authoritarian allies such as Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. On September 1, 2025, he attended a summit with these countries’ leaders, reportedly receiving their support in dealing with the protests at home. Vucic has also attended World War II victory commemorations in Russia and China—events boycotted by most Western nations—signaling a tilt toward his Eastern partners. Yet, he has not blocked Serbian arms exports to Ukraine and even visited Kyiv, suggesting a willingness to keep channels open with the West.
Meanwhile, the stakes on the ground remain high. The anti-corruption rallies have become a direct challenge to Vucic’s rule, with demonstrators demanding free elections, an independent judiciary, and accountability for police violence. Student leaders like Nikolina Sindjelic, who was arrested during protests in August, have accused authorities of mistreatment. “They beat us because they are afraid of us. They have hit us and they will hit us because they know it is all over [for them],” Sindjelic told a crowd outside a police headquarters, as reported by Al Jazeera.
With neither side showing signs of backing down, Serbia stands at a crossroads. The country’s future—whether it moves toward greater democracy or slides further into authoritarianism—may well depend on how this standoff is resolved. For now, the voices in the streets, the actions of the government, and the gaze of the world remain fixed on Belgrade and beyond.