Members of the Z (Z) generation in Serbia, those born after 2001, were perceived as socially and politically uninterested and focused on personal needs. Zers were only critically oriented when their economic rights were threatened, primarily when it came to increasing tuition fees, reducing budget quotas or places in dormitories. This is the first global generation formed under the influence of the Internet, which became their macro and micro cosmos. Zers, as descendants of baby boomers and generation X, did not promise in terms of social engagement and the fight for the transformation of society. Baby boomers left their mark on the 1968 movement, and generation X in the student movement during the 1990s.
The inner world of this, as it turns out, unjustly underestimated generation was unfathomable to the society that was responsible for the environment in which they grew up. That environment is undemocratic and party-political, and hatred of others is rampant, corruption is normalized, human life is devalued, and rule is a mere abstract noun. The Zedash are formed in an environment where it is not important what you know, but who you know, where the red index is worthless compared to the party booklet, in which there is no system of separation of powers or media freedom. In short, they were formed and live in a regime of personal power, without ideology, which relies on media manipulation, clientelistic practices, and corruption as a social pathology that takes away human lives.
The silence of the Zed generation was as loud as their awakening and their rebellion. Through the Zeds, the collective conscious and unconscious spoke, their silenced parents tired of their political defeats and the fight against the same political actors who change narratives, ideology and political patterns. The Zed generation, seen as written off, became the Promethean generation, which managed to lead a nationwide rebellion and historically mobilize the citizenry. The Zeds in Serbia organized the largest student protests in the history of Serbia and the most massive and lasting on a global scale in the 21st century. They brought major topics such as corruption, solidarity, justice, constitutional patriotism, responsibility back onto the socio-political agenda. They traveled far and wide, riding bicycles to European bureaucratic capitals, to demonstrate their fight for the rule of law and the rule of law, which are key concepts in cluster 1. Their political credo is not violence but peaceful civil disobedience, as a supra-legal category, oriented towards developing civic courage, human dignity and the healing of the state and society.
The Zed Generation student movement is not only anti-regime but also anti-systemic and advocates not only for the change of the kleptocratic regime, but also for the transformation of political, economic and symbolic processes. They are aware of the social law that protest practice is not enough for social change and that a redefinition of the existing order in terms of institutional and personal changes is necessary. Zed Generation students do not seek personal gain and show a greater willingness to sacrifice compared to all other generations. They are the most significant anti-corruption force that mobilizes rebellious citizens around the issue of liberating the captured state, establishing political and legal responsibility and colonial discontinuity.
The most valuable legacy of their protest is reflected in raising anti-corruption awareness and educating citizens about the dangers of abuse of power for private purposes. The fight against corruption as the greatest social threat is the central theme of the student movement, which manifests itself in various forms.
Firstly, through student demands, the urgent need for strengthening the institutions responsible for combating corruption is articulated, primarily the prosecutor's office. Secondly, in student protestography, corruption occupies a central place and is approached in a multidisciplinary manner, so numerous banners can be seen at the protests, in which different professions see corruption. Carrying the banner, which is internationally recognizable, is Machines against machinery, and the machinery is nothing more than a corrupt-criminogenic octopus that has taken over the state. The biology students' banners convey the message that Corruption mutates faster than the virus i from Corruption is not a model organism, but it's time to investigate itBiologists emphasize that Mutations in the system bring deadly consequences - it's time for responsibility, and civil engineering students say Corruption is destroying reconstruction, We will build prisons against corruption. as well as Attention. The reconstruction of the constitutional order is underway.. Future human rights defenders and justice dispensers directed their protest expression towards establishing a rule of law, the silence of competent institutions and establishing responsibility for human rights violations. Law students used banners to map the Supreme Public Prosecutor, who, by his inaction, is an accomplice in covering up corrupt criminal acts by public officials, addressing her Zagorka, Serbia is burning for us., We will also remember those who were silent., Lawyers want justice, There will be justice when this empire falls.. Students of the Faculty of Forestry also have anti-corruption awareness and designed a banner We cut down corruption, we plant justice.Third, the Zedash, as a digital generation, create educational video content about the harmful effects of corruption, which they distribute via social networks. Worth mentioning is the twenty-minute documentary about the EXPO 2027 project, as well as the recent public debate about this corrupt project, organized by students of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the International Student Theater Festival.
Ultimately, the anti-corruption rebellion of the Zed generation is not just a Serbian exclusivity, but is becoming a global phenomenon. The butterfly that flapped its wings in Serbia, Nepal and Madagascar has created a political hurricane. Unlike the Nepalese, our Zeds, despite all the hardships that have befallen them, opt for a peaceful transition of power and radical socio-political changes. The Zed generation is mobilizing on various meridians because of the abuse of power and the devastating corruption that affects the poor quality of life. This generation wants a reduction in social inequality, social justice and the rule of law instead of the rule of people. Intolerant of kleptocracy and subservience, the Zed generation is establishing a new economic and political paradigm and poses a great threat to many interests at the national and supranational levels. The Zed generation has taken on a great burden and the time has come for other generations to join it in creating a new order.
The author is a senior research associate at the Institute for Political Studies; as a national consultant for anti-corruption, she has been engaged in World Bank and EU projects.
Bonus video:
