Студентски движения на Балканите: нови форми на активизъм и колективни действия
Student Movements in the Balkans: New Forms of Activism and Collective Action

Summary/Abstract: The article analyses student activism in the Balkans as a distinct form of systemic protest movement in a post-socialist context. In contrast to dominant Western interpretations that conceptualize student protests primarily as sectoral conflicts within higher education, the study demonstrates that in Southeast Europe student movements function as indicators of deeper political, socio-economic, and democratic deficits. The empirical analysis is based on an original dataset covering 84 mass protest waves in the region between 1980 and 2025, combined with an in-depth examination of the Bulgarian case. The article identifies four key strategies of the student movements after 2008: informal and decentralized organization, systematic use of direct action, expansion of demands beyond the educational sphere, and transnational diffusion of protest repertoires and ideas, including the growing role of social media. The article contributes to broader debates on social movements, protest cycles, and democratization in post-socialist societies.

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