Serbia's Student List Could Win by Channeling Protest Energy, but Its Diverse, Experimental Makeup Leaves Institutional Change Uncertain
Source: Lela Vujanić. "Student Protests Are Making Their Mark on Serbia’s Election." October 14, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
Two years of student-led protests have turned into an election list that could actually challenge Serbia's ruling party. The list was chosen through an unusually democratic process, but it is made up of people with different politics and offers only a vague program. So it's unclear whether the movement's energy can become real change in how the country is run.
Conclusion
After two years of student-led anti-corruption protests, the Student List has become a serious electoral challenger to Vučić's ruling party and could win the October 25 election. However, it is unclear whether its ideologically diverse, experimental list and thin program can turn protest energy into lasting institutional change.
Premises
- The student movement has sustained two years of mass mobilization (blockades, plenums, citizen assemblies) since the Novi Sad canopy collapse, producing mass politicization and organizing structures meant to outlast the election.
- The Student List was built through an unprecedented, democratic process: faculty plenums set the criteria (no students, no opposition party officials, no former ruling-coalition members, proven movement support) and could propose and veto candidates. This gives it legitimacy as a break from conventional politics.
- The list is made up largely of 'ordinary people' and is not ideologically unified. It is skewed toward educators and urban university centers, and it is unclear who would hold ministerial roles, how the candidates would cohere in parliament, or who would hold them to the students' program.
- The program is brief and vague (cleaning up the judiciary and media, reforming education and health care, housing for youth, and some labor measures). Voters seem unbothered, which suggests the main goal is replacing the current government and that economic and cultural questions are postponed until after the election.
- The incumbent Vučić is running on macroeconomic 'stabilitocracy', foreign investment, and patriotic protector rhetoric. He is hardening his base and portraying the students as out of touch and foreign-backed. His camp and others use the list's experimental character to spread fear of chaos, and there have been irregularities and violence, while diaspora voting is made difficult.
- Polls are scarce and of uncertain credibility, but they show the Student List growing (about 37% against 48.6% for Vučić's coalition in one mid-September poll). Undecided 'neutral' voters and past abstainers could decide the result.
Assumptions
- Polling trends and growth in support reflect real electoral momentum despite limited credible polling.
- Protest energy can be converted into electoral and institutional power, but only if organizational structures persist after the election.
- Voters' tolerance of a vague program reflects a shared priority of removing the current government, not mere ignorance.
- The democratic selection process confers real legitimacy and accountability to the list.
- Ideological diversity may become a governing liability rather than a strength.
- The election will be contested in a somewhat unfair environment, though one in which results can still be altered by voters.