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NL Europe can no longer afford a moderate tone on Serbia
This piece was also published as an opinion piece together with Holandija Dijaspora in De Volkskrant on 29 May 2026. Last Saturday, on 24 May, one of the biggest demonstrations in Serbia's modern history took place. The demonstration was led by the student movement, which, since the Novi train station disaster [...]
In conversation with green activist: Andrej Zlatović on Serbian student movement, EU cooperation and neo-idealism
Source: Mašina/People's Dispatch This article is the first in a series of conversations in which International Foundation Groenlinks will engage with green activists from different parts of the world. The series looks beyond specific moments or campaigns and instead focuses on how activists reflect on their work, their context and current [...]
Democracy experienced under pressure in Belgrade
Source: Wikimedia Commons During a recent visit to Belgrade, including participation in an EFDS network meeting on democratic developments in the Western Balkans, the contrast between formal political analysis and the lived reality on the ground was impossible to ignore. Within the walls of a hotel conference room, participants spoke in abstract terms about the ongoing democratic decline in Serbia. [...]
INTERVIEW: “One World, One Fight” – why the student protests in Serbia concern us all
The photographs in this article were taken by Jan Arsenovic on 1 November 2025, Utrecht. For over a year, Serbia has been in turmoil due to large-scale student protests. Young people are demanding justice, an end to corruption and the restoration of the rule of law. The spark was ignited when the newly renovated roof of the train station in Novi Sad […]
Analysis: the Serbian student protests in 2025
This publication and text continues in English - as the FMS conducted this research with an international consortium under Friends of the Western Balkans (FoWB), led by the Foundation of European Progressive Studies (FEPS). Until recently, Generation Z in Serbia was often perceived as apolitical and more immersed in the digital [...]
In conversation with a generation standing up for its future
Source: Getty Images When I arrived in Belgrade on 13 May, I immediately felt that we were at a special moment in the country. Together with a delegation of 11 people, I travelled to Serbia on behalf of Friends of the Western Balkans (FoWB) and Foundation Max van der Stoel (FMS), to see for myself [...]
Through the eyes of a Serbian journalist: Dinko Gruhonjić on media, fear and the student uprising in Serbia
Photo: Dinko Gruhonjić (Wikimedia Commons) In this third and final article on the Serbian student movement, the Max van der Stoel Foundation and the International Green Left Foundation once again join forces. We spoke to Dinko Gruhonjić, a journalist with more than 20 years of experience and programme director of the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (NDNV). In addition to his [...]
Our Statement on Serbia during 'Friends of the Western Balkans'
Amid growing concerns about the deterioration of democracy in Serbia, the Friends of the Western Balkans (FoWB) gathered in Ljubljana for their seventh meeting. This network of progressive politicians, civil society leaders and social democrats from across Europe had one clear goal: to express their support for the region's European future. This [...]
The social democratic perspective on the growing protest movement in Serbia
Photo: FMT The FMS, in collaboration with International Foundation GroenLinks, has started a series on the Serbian anti-corruption protests. During this series, we highlight different sides of the protests, and this time we cover the social democratic perspective. Last Saturday, 15 March, the largest (student) protests in Serbia to date took place, with more than 300,000 people in attendance. [...]
The student perspective on the growing protest movement in Serbia
Source: Tasnim The FMS, in collaboration with International Foundation GroenLinks, has started a series on the Serbian anti-corruption protests. During this series, we will highlight different sides of the protests, starting with the students' perspective. Marija, a 23-year-old Serbian student, usually studies at her university. But now she, like many [...]