For young Europeans frustrated with politics, Serbia has just delivered a powerful message: democracy can still work, even when the odds are stacked against you.
On 25 October, Serbia’s student-backed movement achieved what many considered impossible. After nearly two years of protests, it defeated the political establishment that had dominated the country for more than a decade. According to preliminary results, the Students’ List won nearly 53% of the vote and 140 of the 250 parliamentary seats, while voter turnout reached approximately 69%, the highest in over 30 years. But perhaps the most remarkable part of this story is not simply that the students won, but how they managed to do it.
From protest to participation
The movement began following the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed 16 people and became a symbol of systemic corruption and government negligence. What started as student protests demanding accountability grew into one of the largest civic mobilisations in Serbia’s recent history.
But rather than allowing their movement to fade into frustration, they began building an alternative. Through student plenums, they developed a decentralised and participatory decision-making structure. Students debated proposals and coordinated actions across universities. This model of grassroots democracy also spread beyond universities through local citizens’ assemblies, known as zborovi, where residents came together to discuss local issues and make collective decisions. It was an experiment in democracy, sometimes slow and messy, but one that gave the movement legitimacy and a sense of collective ownership.
As Ilija Srđanović, who headed the Students’ List, put it ahead of the election:
“Change doesn’t happen on its own, nor will anyone hand it to us. It is time for all of us to take matters into our own hands.”
From the streets to the ballot box
In doing so, they built the infrastructure needed to sustain a nationwide movement. They coordinated volunteers, mobilised communities in the cities and countryside, and eventually decided to contest the elections. This was the crucial turning point. They understood that protesting against those in power was not enough. They needed a democratic strategy to replace them.
A coalition beyond left and right
Another remarkable feature of Serbia’s student movement was its political diversity. The coalition brought together people from across the ideological spectrum including progressives and conservatives, liberals and nationalists, young activists, and older citizens.
As Students’ List candidate Radomir Saičić explained, “What we can offer the citizens of Serbia, regardless of whether they are religious or not, whether they come from the left or the right, is the rule of law.”Instead of focusing on contentious geopolitical issues, the movement focused on what united people: fighting corruption, restoring the rule of law, demanding accountability, and building institutions that serve citizens. This is precisely what allowed it to build such a broad coalition.
And despite being called the Students’ List, not a single student was actually a candidate. The students deliberately supported a list of professionals and experts, showing that this was never just a youth movement. It had become an intergenerational effort to change the country’s political direction.
Against the odds
What makes Serbia’s experience particularly significant is the environment in which this movement succeeded. The elections took place in a democratic context. The ruling party has benefited from blurred lines between state resources and partisan campaigning, while opposition activists have faced intimidation and harassment. In other words, this was far from a level playing field. Yet the movement managed to overcome many of these. Without comparable access to traditional media or state resources, it relied on volunteers, community networks, social media, and direct engagement with citizens. Its strength came not from powerful political figures or established party structures, but from ordinary people organising together.
As independent election watchdog CRTA concluded, the election showed that a government could be changed through the ballot box even under extremely unequal electoral conditions, thanks above all to extraordinary voter mobilisation.
Lessons for the rest of Europe
For civil society movements elsewhere in Europe, this may be the most important lesson: the power of organised citizens to turn collective frustration into meaningful change should never be underestimated.
Across Europe, people are increasingly frustrated with political institutions they see as disconnected or unable to deliver meaningful change. Serbia offers an alternative to both political resignation and anti-system populism. Its citizens showed that frustration can become a source of democratic renewal when it is turned into organisation, peaceful collective action, and a credible political alternative.
Serbia’s message for the rest of Europe is that democratic change can begin with ordinary citizens who refuse to accept the status quo, who organise themselves, and ultimately use democracy to demand something better.
An article by Daniela Vancic,
Democracy International