The writers’ workshop „Protests and New Democratic Imaginaries in Serbia“ will be held on November 19 and 20 at the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade.

During this two-day event in Belgrade, more than twenty research papers addressing the current unprecedented wave of social mobilization in Serbia will be presented. The topics they deal with concern the role of emotions in shaping collective actions, democratic innovations and limitations of representation, value and ideological orientation of protest participants, parallels between the current student movement and its previous iterations throughout history, and European perspectives on current socio-political events in the country.

Selected works will be published in the Routledge’s book volume “Protests and New Democratic Imaginaries in Serbia”.

On the first day, a public discussion will explore key insights and lessons that have the potential to resonate beyond Serbia. The conversation will bring together Maja Stojanović (Građanske inicijative), Florian Bieber (University of Graz), Vujo Ilić (Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju), and student representatives.

The working language of the workshop is English.

Day 1 – Structures, Democracy, and Emotions of Resistance

09:30–10:00 | Welcome with coffee

10:00–11:15 | Infrastructures of Care and Collective Emotions

• Bojana Radovanović, Sara Nikolić & Marija Radovanović, University of Belgrade
  • Infrastructures of Care: Mutual Aid and the Civic Fabric of the 2024–2025 Serbian Student Uprising
• Tatjana Aleksić, University of Michigan
  • Social Evolution, not a Revolution: Empathy, Inclusion, and Responsibility as Resistance
• Danijela Jerotijević, Comenius University
  • Fueling Resistance: Collective and Moral Emotions in the Serbian Student Protest
• Milica Manojlović, Marija Branković, Vojin Simunović, Matija Gvozden, Ljiljana B. Lazarevic & Iris Žeželj, University of Belgrade
  • Emergence of an Identity through Collective Action – the Case of Protesting Students in Serbia 2024/25

11:15–11:30 | Coffee Break

11:30–12:45 | Sovereignty, Representation, and Legitimacy

• Stefan Surlić and Andrijana Lazarević, University of Belgrade
  • We the State: Student Protest and the Redefinition of Sovereignty in the Serbian Hybrid Regime
• Ivan Rajković & Srđan Đurović, University of Vienna | University of Belgrade
  • The Non-Political Novum: Student Protests in Serbia at the Limits of Representation
• Jelena Lončar, University of Belgrade
  • Fear Has Changed Sides: Reclaiming Legitimacy through Student Activism in Serbia
• Cameron A. Howie & Milica Mijailović, University of Amsterdam
  • Perceptions of Plenary Structures among Serbian Student Protesters: Organising Democracy from Below

12:45–14:00 | Lunch Break

14:00–15:45 | Ideological Matrices and Historical Frames

• Dijana Vukomanović, Institute of Social Sciences
  • Ideological Matrices of the Student Movement 2024–2025 in Serbia
• Ivica Mladenović, University of Belgrade | Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
  • “Ćacilend” as a Phenomenon of Ideological Crisis: Naming Class Function in the 2024–2025 Student Protests
• Olga Manojlović Pintar & Dimitrije Matić, Institute for Recent History of Serbia
  • History as a Battleground: The (Ab)use of Historical Narratives in the 2024–2025 Student Protests in Serbia
• Daniela Simon & Danica Trifunjagić, University of Tübingen
  • Threatened Orders, Contested Frames: A Comparative Media Analysis of Student Protests in Serbia 1996–1997 and 2024–2025
• Smiljka Tomanović, Dragan Stanojević, Milica Vlajić, University of Belgrade
  • New Political Generation’s View on Current and Past Protests: Between the Political Protest and the Social Movement

18:00–19:30 | Open Discussion: What did we learn about democracy with students? Lessons Learnt and Paths Forward (IFDT)

Moderator: Gazela Draško Pudar (IFDT)

Participants:

• Florian Bieber (University of Graz);
• Vujo Ilić (IFDT);
• Maja Stojanović (Građanske inicijative);
• Two student representatives.

Day 2 – Europe and Orientations

10:00–11:15 | Europe, and External Frames

• Ioan Suhov & Ana Jovanovic-Harrington, Dublin City University
  • Stabilitocracy in the Headlines: How European Media Frame Serbia’s Protest Movement
• Natasza Styczyńska & Haris Dajc, Jagiellonian University | University of Belgrade
  • Diverse European Perspectives in the 2024–2025 Serbian Student Protests: A Study of Varied Attitudes Toward EU Integration
• Boris Kaličanin & Aleksandar Ivković, University of Belgrade | Centre for Contemporary Politics
  • The EU Response Toward Serbia’s Democratic Decline: Have Student Protests Changed Anything?

11:15–11:30 | Coffee Break

11:30–13:00 | Language, Play, and Cultural Codes of Protest

• Valentina Bošković Marković & Marija Mandić, Singidunum University | University of Belgrade
  • Rebellion in Words: Neologisms, Language Play, and Sociolinguistic Attitudes in the 2024–2025 Serbian Students’ Protests
• Sonja Stojanović Gajić & Dušan Stanković, University of Rijeka | Malmö University
  • Gaming Security during Serbian Student Protests
• Dragan Popović, Policy Center
  • Whose Flags Are Flying – The Value Orientation of the Student Protest in Serbia 2024/25
• Aida Kapetanović, University of Rijeka | University of Belgrade
  • From Environmental Struggles to Student-Led Protests: Continuities and Discontinuities in Movement Framing in Serbia