In 2024–25, Serbia’s leaderless, decentralised, nonviolent student movement made a rare thing happen: it made fear change sides. In 2026, the government has shifted from managing crowds to tightening procedural control, targeting the institutions that sheltered resistance. Universities, argues Marina Milić, are now the frontline rebels – disciplined through labour rules and a financial ‘kill switch’
Co-Head of the Programme Perspective East, Polis 180 e.V.
Marina is based in Berlin.
She holds a BA in International Relations and an MA in democracy and democratisation from the University of Belgrade.
Her research interests include democracy and democratisation, protest movements, civic resistance, EU enlargement, and political developments in Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, and the post-Soviet space.
She has published for Polis 180, New Eastern Europe, and Democracy Without Borders.
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