The working title of the presentation is: How to Organize a Mass Movement in an Autocracy: The Students of Serbia. For the event, I plan to print a pamphlet containing material that will help the audience follow the presentation, including basic demographic information about Serbia, an overview of the country’s political system and current government, the students’ demands, and a timeline of key events. The presentation itself will last between 70 and 75 minutes, with the remaining time devoted to questions from the audience.

The presentation will begin by addressing the following question: why is it important to understand the student movement in Serbia and the events surrounding it? The reasons are numerous, but they can be grouped into two broad categories. The first concerns gaining insight into the political situation of a European country and what the movement may reveal about its future. The second focuses on the tactics and strategies employed by the students, as well as the social conditions that allowed the movement to become as successful as it did.

This will be followed by a chronological account beginning with the tragedy that occurred in Novi Sad on November 1st, 2024. Each stage will be illustrated, where possible, with news articles and visual evidence. The slides will alternate between an external perspective, including government actions, protests, notable public statements, and polling data, and an internal perspective, describing the nature of the movement’s growth, its ability to adapt to changing circumstances, and prevailing attitudes toward the future. I will also use several illustrative anecdotes to enrich the narrative and help the audience immerse themselves in the experience. In addition, selected internal documents from the movement will be presented to accurately depict the decision-making processes involved. I will also attempt to construct visual data to support some of my claims about the movement’s character.

Four issues will receive particular attention: the structure of the movement, its ideological landscape, the protest on March 15th, and the decision to demand parliamentary elections. For some of these key moments, I will adopt a more interactive approach, inviting the audience to reflect on how they themselves might have acted in similar decisive situations. The presentation will conclude with an overview of the current situation, followed by a discussion of the movement’s possible future trajectories.

Aleksa Pavlović holds a bachelor’s degree in International Politics and Economics from Bocconi University in Milan and a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Niš. Aleksa is currently enrolled in the Economic Systems double degree master’s program jointly offered by the Free University of Berlin and the University of Belgrade, as well as the master’s program in Philosophy at the University of Niš. Aleksa spent the majority of the 2024/2025 academic year in Belgrade, which allowed him to participate in one of the largest student movements Europe has seen in decades, an experience he considers the single greatest learning opportunity of his life.