Beyond the Borders of Protest - Political Echoes of the Student Movement among Serbian Political Actors in the Region
This paper examines the reactions of political actors representing the Serb corpus in Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Montenegro and Croatia to the student protests that took place in Serbia in 2024. The research explores how transnational ethnonationalism, political loyalty and domestic political contexts shape the ways in which these actors interpret and respond to protest movements in the “kin-state”. Methodologically, the paper relies on discourse analysis of public statements and social media posts published between November 2024 and October 2025 complemented by a quantitative coding of evaluative positions on a five-point ordinal scale.
The findings indicate that political resonance with events in Serbia occurs selectively and primarily along the lines of political alignment with the ruling structures in Belgrade. Rather than expressing ideological or democratic solidarity, most actors reaffirmed regime loyalty and framed the protests as destabilizing or externally influenced. Opposition and civic-oriented figures, however, tended to articulate moderate or explicit support for student demands. The study contributes to understanding how transnational ethnonational networks function as mechanisms of political control and symbolic belonging across borders and how regional elites reproduce or challenge central narratives originating from Serbia.
Marko Lončar
Marko Lončar is a political scientist with an MA in European Studies from the University of Belgrade. He was a Fulbright Visiting Researcher at the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University. His research interests include comparative politics, European integration and political participation with a particular focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans.
Nikolina Lozo
Nikolina Lozo is an assistant at PIM University, Banja Luka. She has an MA in political science from the University of Belgrade. She was scholarship holder of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung during her bachelor studies. Her research interests include comparative politics, political systems of post-conflict societies with particular focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Marko Lončar
Marko Lončar is a political scientist with an MA in European Studies from the University of Belgrade. He was a Fulbright Visiting Researcher at the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University. His research interests include comparative politics, European integration and political participation with a particular focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans.