Students and their professors challenge Vučić - Serbian elections analysis

After the elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which only cemented the ethnic lines between Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks, the key elections for the entire Balkans are just around the corner – early parliamentary elections in Serbia on October 25, 2026. The student movement, which has emerged from massive protests following the tragic events in Novi Sad, has turned into a political force that has the potential to challenge the 12-year dominance of Vučić's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) for the very first time. For expertise, we turned to political scientist Aleksandar Ivković from the Center for Contemporary Politics and analyzed the current political situation, results of pre-election debates and the tactics used by the two strongest blocks – the Student List and the United Serbia. Link to the previous episode on the subject: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/episode/0MonUe6DOwiXVHoWoKuY0T?si=08B2Q9jWT3SqtH-BzztVhQ

A country with the most complex political structure in Europe (and certainly among the top five globally) is bound to have at least a "unique" electoral system. And it sure does!In the general elections on October 4, citizens across two entities (Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) and one self-governing district (Brčko) will elect three members of the joint presidency and a president for Republika Srpska; meanwhile, Croats and Bosniaks will elect not only their parliamentary deputies but also representatives for ten cantons. Yes, this state of approximately three million people will have five presidents, 14 prime ministers, 190 ministers, and 666 elected representatives.All this is taking place against the backdrop of a crisis surrounding the near-omnipotent Office of the High Representative that, in the past, did not hesitate to alter the electoral law on election day itself.We invite you to a fascinating discussion with political scientist Vojislav Savić from Banja Luka. We will focus not only on the upcoming elections but also on long-standing issues that particularly concern the Serb population in this unique multi-ethnic state.

Despite being the largest ethnicity in the Western Balkans, the Serbs in Kosovo, their former province, make up only a small percentage of the population. Being effectively held hostage by the two hostile countries and run by two parallel systems, Kosovo Serbs have faced displacement, war and even a pogrom.Let´s explore together the history, the failed attempts at agreements and the infamous Banjska incident with our guest, a former diplomat to Kosovo Márton Nikowitz-Holló. links to previous episodes on the subject:https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Kds2u9MBSpgy2Dc8giPH1?si=4AR1E00mRBatG7Rys-MIqwhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/3N6P2z4lKDE7yRX08XC0OR?si=AxxxyS9rTBC67X19JbdiLQ

The Serbs are not the only ones protesting for the well-being of their country and their environment. Albanians have taken to the streets repeatedly during the past year to express their anger at the corrupt elites and the threat to their unique environment. Join us in exploring the root causes of the protests, why they are labeled as the "flamingo revolution" and what does the Trump family have to do with the entire affair. Our guest this time is Árpád Párducz, a Hungarian expert on the Balkans.

Serbia has been through one of the most serious challenges in the past decade. Years of environmental, anti-government and student protests have been difficult for the whole society and proved to be a first true challenge for the ruling SNS party and de-facto leader of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić. Why did Vučić announce his resignation, and how does it fit into the upcoming early elections? Learn more with Balkan Interviews and our go-to expert on Serbia, Filip Ilanković.

Serbia, Bosnia, N. Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro have all been struggling to manage the recent turbulent shifts in the energy sector, made all the more difficult by the lack of a single regulated marketplace and competing visions. Military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have added unpredictability to the issues that arose from the need to de-carbonize and incoming CBAM tax system.Join us in exploring how the various countries of the Western Balkans manage the various challenges with our latest guest Strahinja Obrenović, assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Science in Belgrade. Links to previous episodes on the topic:South Interconnection in Bosnia and Herzegovina:https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tWTor921EmhBRyDUtVFRG?si=MQ7qEWSIQfm4xFFSypP2QASanctions on Serbian oil sector:https://open.spotify.com/episode/2tx2vJcFF6nLrE2Fxn8KZa?si=KytqGsuwTWy_LpFjRWk3Hg

Balkan Interviews brings you an update on the political crisis in Kosovo, which has been impacting the stability and economic (mis)fortunes of the youngest state in Europe for more then 18 months. Our new guest Márton Nikowitz-Holló from the Balkans Institute of Hungarian Institute of International Affairs explains and explores the roots of the ongoing crises and paints a picture of what is to come.Please join us in our latest debate on the Balkans. You may find the previous episode on crisis in Kosovo in our podcast here:https://open.spotify.com/episode/0zVRzZUF5xZSM42cVmXZul?si=ryWk-s3STWWzmw5RH5jrKA

Illegal drugs, weapons and people smuggling, that is just short list of the business portfolio of Balkans-based organized crime groups that came into prevalance after the Yugoslav war in the 1990s. How they came about, how are they operating and what are some of the most well-known cases that hit the news - we discuss all of these with our traditional expert on the Balkans from Hungary, Árpád Párducz.

The new Hungarian prime minister Péter Magyár and his Tisza party are promising sweeping changes to Hungarian domestic and foreign policy. What was it to begin with in relation to the Western Balkans? Will Milorad Dodik and Aleksandar Vučić find new friends or foes in Budapest? What about Gruevski´s asylum? What about Beneš´s decrees?Filip Ilanković from Hungary´s Institute of International Affairs was kind enough to answer these questions and much more, in the latest interview for The Balkan Chronicles. Stay tuned for more current news and analyses with us!

(first aired 2.3.2026)In our latest interview with Filip Ilanković a Hungarian-based expert on Serbia, from Serbia, we discuss the very troubled path of Serbia towards EU membership. Serbia´s journey has begun in 2009 and peaked in late 2010s, but has been stalled since 2022, especially because of its reluctance to sanction Russia and harsh critique of EU institutions. Join us in our in- depth discussion and judge for yourself if Serbia should be let in or left out and why the Serbs actually don´t care that much anymore.