On Tuesday, June 17th, 2025, a roundtable dedicated to student and civil protests in Serbia was held, titled “The Current Social Crisis Through the Lens of Public Opinion”. The roundtable was structured to explore the topic of student and civil protests from multiple angles: the student perspective, academic research, international political context, and media coverage.
The event was opened by the Director of the Institute of Social Sciences, Dr. Goran Bašić. The roundtable featured 13 panelists across 4 sessions.
During the introductory panel titled “Students on Student Blockades”, participants had the opportunity to hear from student of the Faculty of Political Sciences about the work and functioning of the plenums, the evolution of the organization of student protests and blockades from the beginning to the present, the goals of student protests and blockades, and the most desirable outcomes of the current crisis. The moderator of this panel was Dr. Jovana Zafirović from the Center for Political Research and Public Opinion.
The second panel, “Public Opinion in Surveys” presented two public opinion surveys. The research conducted by the Institute of Social Sciences titled “Student and Civil Protests in Serbia – Motives, Causes, and Goals” was presented by researchers from the Center for Political Research and Public Opinion (Danica Lazović) and the Center for Sociological and Anthropological Research (Nevena Novaković and Njegoš Vujadinović). The research conducted by CRTA was presented by Vojislav Mihailović and Jovana Đurbabić. The moderator of this panel was Dr. Branka Matijević from the Center for Political Research and Public Opinion.
In the third panel, “Discursive Practices and Instruments of Political Struggle” Dr. Aleksandra Marković and Dr. Nemanja Zvijer from the Institute for Sociological Research presented a study on the visual archive of protest banners, while Professors Dr. Jovo Bakić and Dr. Ivana Spasić, both from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade, offered a reflection on the position of higher education during the current social crisis. Professor Dr. Bojan Vranić from the Faculty of Political Sciences presented a report concerning the promotion of democracy by the EU in the countries of the European neighborhood, focusing on recommendations for EU action in the context of student and civil protests in Serbia. The moderator of this panel was Jelena Riznić from the Center for Sociological and Anthropological Research.
The fourth panel, “Media Coverage of Student and Civil Protests” focused on the position of the media during the current crisis, reporting on the protests, as well as the challenges and difficulties faced by media outlets and journalists in their work and reporting. Participants in this panel included Marko Miletić from Mašina and Saša Dragojlo from BIRN. The moderator of this panel was Nevena Novaković from the Center for Sociological and Anthropological Research.
The event concluded with a discussion in which panelists and participants had the opportunity to exchange opinions, views, and conclusions on the ongoing student and civil protests in Serbia
