NATIONALIST “HIJACKING” OF STUDENT PROTESTS CASE STUDY OF THE TELEGRAM CHANNEL “BUNT JE STANJE DUHA”
NATIONALIST “HIJACKING” OF STUDENT PROTESTS CASE STUDY OF THE TELEGRAM CHANNEL “BUNT JE STANJE DUHA”

Author(s): Katarina Bogićević
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Social Sciences, Communication studies, Sociology, Nationalism Studies, Corruption - Transparency - Anti-Corruption
Published by: BCBP Beogradski centar za bezbednosnu politiku
Keywords: student protests; far-right infiltration; digital extremism; nationalist discourse; critical discourse analysis; Telegram propaganda; democratic vulnerability
Summary/Abstract: The tragedy in which 16 people lost their lives following the collapse of a reconstructed railway station canopy in Novi Sad marked a turning point in the collective consciousness of Serbian society. The widespread belief that the incident resulted from systemic corruption and the erosion of institutional accountability triggered a mass wave of civic discontent and resistance. In the series of protest events following November 1, 2024, an emancipatory student movement emerged with the potential to articulate an alternative vision of society and the state.1 The movement “Students in Blockade” is predominantly based on horizontal organizing principles and digital communication networks, and it reflects the key characteristics of new social movements. The absence of hierarchical structures, deliberative decision-making processes, and the occupation of urban spaces as sites of political expression, position this movement within contemporary patterns of civic resistance articulation.

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