In 2025, Serbian student-led protesters intentionally avoided formal links with CSOs to protect their movement’s legitimacy. Following the 2024 Novi Sad station tragedy, organizers rejected NGO cooperation to bypass government-led “foreign agent” narratives and preserve public trust. While some students cited concerns over interference by individual organisations or the presence of GONGOs, the distancing went beyond specific cases and reinforced a broader anti-politics narrative and distrust toward organised civic action. Although tactically effective in sustaining public support, this separation limited access to civil society’s experience, legal expertise, protection mechanisms, and international solidarity networks. The case illustrates how long-term demonisation of civil society fragments civic space and weakens cross-sectoral solidarity at critical moments of democratic mobilisation. Read more here.
Source: BIRN
