Description: More than 140 thousand people gathered to protest the rule of their populist President Aleksandar Vucic, naming the incumbent government of being complicit in large scale corruption, ties with organized crime and censure of media rights. The students issued an ultimatum last week, calling President Vucic to disband the Parliament and organize snap elections, which could see the end of his 12 – year rule in the country. Vucic vehemently denied calling snap elections and opted for repression instead, naming unidentified state actors to have been behind the student protests attempting to topple the current Serbian government. The demonstrations blocked key traffic routes throughout the capital Belgrade as several instances of direct confrontation between the protesters and police turned violent, resulting in several arrests.
Impact: Serbia’s civil movement, personified through the student protests is entering its eighth month of civil upheaval, challenging the governments rule. The movement gained traction and was supported by teachers, agricultural workers and other civil groups which have stated their boiled-up disapproval of the way Vucic’s Progressive Party (SNS) leads the country. No indications of direct contact between government representatives and individuals pertaining to the protest movement were reported which signals the crisis is yet to escalate and expand on a nationwide level. Serbia is experiencing a healthy dose of domestic destabilization where the governments is clinging onto power without legitimizing its rule through elections. The protests are yet to spread nationwide with the political and civilian crisis expanding towards a more severe degree of escalation.