In this podcast, Dan Banik, Academic Director of the Knowledge Hub on Democracy at Circle U., speaks with Nemanja Džuverović, Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Belgrade and fellow Chair of the Knowledge Hub, to explore one of the most significant civic mobilizations in contemporary Serbia.

The conversation begins with the collapse of the Novi Sad train station, which took place a year earlier and claimed sixteen lives: a tragic event that exposed a political system corroded by corruption, impunity, and the concentration of power. From this collective wound emerged a student movement that, within months, grew into a nationwide protest uniting academics, workers, professionals, and hundreds of thousands of citizens.

Banik and Džuverović reconstruct the broader context of democratic erosion that has afflicted Serbia for more than a decade, explaining how a single political force has managed to capture the entire institutional system. They then address the growing frustration toward the European Union, accused of prioritizing short-term stability over the defense of democratic values, thus contributing to what many scholars describe as a “stabilocracy.” The dialogue expands to the shifting geopolitical landscape: the increasingly prominent roles of China and Russia, the ambiguity of Serbia’s relations with the West, and the rise of inequality hidden beneath an apparent wave of economic development.

Drawing on Džuverović’s firsthand experience—from university occupations to the government’s escalating repression—the episode offers rare insight into a collective movement striving to restore transparency, accountability, and participation in a democracy under strain. This conversation not only interrogates the present of the Balkans but also reminds us that democratic renewal can still emerge from below, fueled by the courage of a generation unwilling to give up.

Listen to the podcast.