On October 21, 2025, Dr. Gazela Pudar Draško, Director and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory (University of Belgrade), delivered the fourth Annual Borka Tomljenović Lecture at the University of Michigan’s Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREES). The lecture was supported by the Borka Tomljenović Southeast European Peace, Cooperation, and Conflict Fund, which promotes scholarship and dialogue on Yugoslavia and Southeast Europe..
In her lecture, titled “Student-Led Democracy in Serbia’s Hybrid Regime,” Dr. Pudar Draško examined the contemporary political context in Serbia, describing it as a hybrid regime characterized by media control and gradual authoritarian consolidation. She traced the development of civic mobilization, from environmental protests to large-scale demonstrations following tragic events, including the Belgrade school shooting and the November 2024 infrastructure disaster in Novi Sad.
A central focus of the lecture was the emergence of decentralized student plenums as spaces of direct and deliberative democracy. Dr. Pudar Draško highlighted how students, particularly at the University of Belgrade, bypassed government-influenced student bodies by organizing open assemblies, working groups, and using social media to coordinate actions. Despite repression, misinformation, and intimidation, the movement’s leaderless and transparent structure enabled it to sustain momentum and resist co-optation.
The discussion that followed addressed generational divides, the future of universities, prospects for democratic change, and the challenges of scaling decentralized activism. Dr. Pudar Draško emphasized the transformative potential of this new wave of student engagement, noting growing public support for the movement.
The following day, CREES students had the opportunity to continue the conversation in an informal setting. The Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory is pleased to see its research contributing to international academic dialogue on democracy and social transformation in Southeast Europe.