We spoke with IDS co-chairs Melanija Lojpur and Radivoje Jovović about why they decided to join forces now, the student movement and the upcoming elections, political repression in Serbia, and what building a democratic socialist alternative could mean beyond election day.

Štefica Gazibara: IDS brings together Solidarnost, Borba je obaveza and activists from different political and social struggles. Why did you decide to join forces at this particular moment?
You chose the name Initiative for Democratic Socialism for a reason. What does democratic socialism mean in Serbia today – what kind of political alternative do you want to build?

Melanija Lojpur: Political life in Serbia has been devastated by 14 years of SNS rule, compounded by raw neoliberalism in the last 26 years and a legacy of single-party obedience during the socialist period. Representative democracy has become meaningless as elites serve big capital. However, the tragedy of the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse exposed rampant, deadly corruption, making citizens realise that no institutions work in their public interest. This systemic decay sparked a rebellion among younger generations.

We united Solidarnost, Borba je obaveza, and activists now because this crisis demands a bold alternative – we have to be real and to demand something that is presented as unreal. Democratic socialism in Serbia today means returning politics to the people. We draw inspiration from the social vanguard of 1970s and 1980s Yugoslavia, proving we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We want to protect the state as a public good, secure food sovereignty through regenerative agriculture, and stop human and natural exploitation for profit, ensuring dignity is our highest value.

Melanija Lojpur is an organiser and activist in the fields of feminism, labour rights, and minority rights, based in Serbia. She holds a BA in Philosophy and an MA in Cultural Studies from the University of Belgrade. Her work spans over a decade in the public utility sector, trade union leadership, and political activism for working-class and marginalised communities.
Formerly a spokesperson for the Political Platform Solidarnost and a member of the Centre for Politics of Emancipation and Trag Foundation, Melanija is currently co-chair of the Initiative for Democratic Socialism. She connects economic demands with broader social movements. Guided by democratic socialism and a deep commitment to trade unionism, her work focuses on restoring public goods to communities, protecting LGBTIQ+ rights, and strengthening labour and feminist solidarity.
 

Radivoje Jovović: Over the past years of struggle against an autocratic regime, we have reached a point where it is time to unite and renew the Left in Serbia. People have become increasingly aware on a massive scale of the extent to which our society, our nature, and our environment have been exploited, and finally, after decades of media demonisation of the Left, political space has emerged for its revitalisation. We ourselves have been working towards this revitalisation for a long time, always face to face with workers, our fellow citizens, and all those who deserve to have their security and dignity restored.

The democratic socialism we represent is much more than the pale social-democratic projects of the past, which in Serbia have invariably ended up in an alliance with neoliberalism. We want democracy and dignity both in politics and in the workplace; the development of models of worker participation and (co-)ownership; the development of cooperatives and cooperative forms of organisation; strong protection of public goods and assets under public ownership; fair progressive taxation; a living wage; and a financial system that serves overall social development. For us, democracy cannot stop at the doors of parliament or city hall; it must also extend into the workplace and the economy. We must also fundamentally reform the social security system that has kept people in a subordinate position, making them vulnerable to exploitation by corrupt authorities and unscrupulous capital. All of this, and much more, is a path towards restoring the dignity that the people of Serbia deserve.

Radivoje Jovović is a political scientist and university professor from Novi Sad, Serbia. He holds a PhD from the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Belgrade and is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law and Business Studies Dr Lazar Vrkatić in Novi Sad. He is also a member of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and co-chair of the Initiative for Democratic Socialism.
For more than two decades, Jovović has been engaged in academic work, civic activism, and political organising, focusing on social justice, workers’ rights, public goods, environmental protection, and democratisation. Guided by the principles of democratic socialism and social solidarity, his work connects political education with grassroots activism and the defence of the public interest. 

One of IDS’s first political decisions was to give its full support to the student movement and Studentska lista – Studenti pobeđuju (Students Will Win), while stressing the importance of preserving the movement’s autonomy. What role does IDS see for itself in supporting the movement in the run-up to the elections?

ML: Our primary role is to support students in rebuilding social cohesion, solidarity, and respect for the electoral process and the will of the voters. This will be difficult. The European Union is fully aware of our problems: 5.5 million adult voters versus 6.4 million registered citizens on the electoral roll, phantom voters, their orchestrated migrations, and countless voters without a proper address.^[1]

Our problem is not just a mafia-like regime; it is also Europe’s tendency to turn a blind eye to every abuse and corruption in the name of “stabilocracy.” For now, our role is to help students politicise citizens, safeguard the election process, protect the popular will, and establish the basic standards of a state that genuinely serves its people.

RJ: We are an organisation whose entire membership has stood alongside the student struggle from the very beginning. This is not only because the students’ organisational models are left-wing, or because the economic and social programmes of the student movement are left-wing and clearly socially oriented, but also because of our firm conviction that ideals can only be achieved through a responsible approach to society. We see the student movement as the central democratic force capable of challenging this regime and creating the political foundations from which we can fight for the long-term building of a community based on justice, dignity, and solidarity.

We have placed all our people and resources at the service of the student movement’s victory. Whether it is our election monitors and observers, our activities and media presence, or our tangible material resources, everything has been put towards advancing a single slogan whose fulfilment we eagerly await: Students Will Win.

You have emphasised the importance of “the day after the elections” and the need for the left to offer a longer-term political alternative. IDS also brings together representatives in local assemblies across Serbia, including the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. How do you see IDS developing beyond the immediate electoral struggle – at the local and regional level and as a broader democratic socialist alternative in Serbia? What role do regionalisation and decentralisation play in this?

ML: Decentralisation and regionalisation are core pillars of our programme and values.

Decentralisation also means giving people real mechanisms to participate in decisions that affect their communities, rather than simply bringing administration closer to them. Without true autonomy for local self-governments to address their specific needs with state support, politics loses its purpose. Centralisation has devastated Serbia’s regions, concentrating a quarter of the population – unofficially even more – into urban centres. Today, Belgrade stands as a symbol of an unliveable city with collapsing infrastructure.

Regionalisation is vital for building a sustainable future and a dignified life. Drawing on our experience living in Vojvodina, we know that respecting regional autonomy—rooted in solidarity and mutual aid—is the only way to tackle global ecological crises, which always manifest locally and demand local responses. Beyond the elections, IDS will leverage our presence in local assemblies and the Vojvodina provincial parliament to fight for real decentralisation, transforming our communities from the ground up.

RJ: Centralisation in Serbia has exacted a heavy social toll. Today, we have villages and smaller towns without dentists, doctors, access to drinking water, sewerage networks, and more. Centralisation came in through the front door in the 1990s, accusing separate territorial units of separatism, while in reality, financial and political interests lay behind it all. Here, life at the local level depends on transfers of funds from the Republic and on the political loyalty of local communities toward the centre.

We must change this. IDS is aware of how deeply rooted certain political myths are in the consciousness of a large part of society, but no one ever said it would be easy. The task of the Left has always been difficult, but it has also always been the right one.

At the founding assembly, several people who will take on leading roles within IDS were presented, representing different political, activist and professional backgrounds. Could you tell us a little about the people behind IDS – where do you both come from politically, and what different experiences and movements are represented within the new initiative?

ML: Our initiative brings together a diverse mosaic of anti-fascists, leftists, LGBT activists, feminists, trade unionists, eco-activists, and ordinary citizens. Our camaraderie—forged through various struggles over the past 15 years, especially with our comrades from Borba je obaveza—has finally been politically articulated into an initiative that brings socialism back into play.

My own political path stems from a decade of work in the public sector and trade union activities, combined with the devastating industrial collapse of Zrenjanin, the city where I grew up during the 1990s. Once an economic and cultural giant, it has been reduced to a city where a foreign rubber tyre factory operates like a labour camp in the fertile Banat plain. My politicisation was further shaped by my sexual identity and feminist education, which helped me articulate the overlapping oppressions of this system. Imagine the rich diversity of our initiative when this is just one of many personal stories.

RJ: IDS brings together people from different backgrounds, social contexts, and generations. I consider this a major strength, precisely because the challenges facing the Left are multidimensional and must be viewed from different perspectives – not least from a communications perspective.

Personally, I entered politics as a university professor and political scientist. Coming from a working-class background and a partisan family, and having grown up during the terrible bloodshed and extremely difficult social conditions of the 1990s, I have always hoped that, in some way, I would contribute to the revival of the Left in Serbia. For years, I was an active member of the academic community and the NGO sector, but that was not enough. Through its repression and shameless conduct, the regime of Aleksandar Vučić pulled me out of the classroom and into the real world – first into activism, and then into politics.

Unfortunately, there has been little opportunity to put my political science expertise to use for the common good; more often, my role has simply involved direct, hands-on activism. But these are the conditions of the struggle at this moment; all that is left to us is to decide whether we will fight or not.

Radivoje, you mentioned arrests, detention and other forms of pressure experienced by you and others involved in IDS. From your own experience, what does this tell us about the conditions under which political opposition and social movements are currently operating in Serbia? Has this repression changed the way you organise politically?

RJ: We must operate with the constant awareness that we may be under surveillance, and that details from our private conversations could potentially be used for political and judicial persecution – as happened last year, when several of our comrades spent months in pretrial detention as a result of such a case involving unlawful surveillance. We must act carefully and patiently, with every step thoroughly assessed and calculated. Simply being out on the streets always carries potential risks, while unlawful arrests and detentions have placed a serious burden on the previous period of our activities.
We have been through a great deal. I have personally been arrested nine times But it has created an even stronger sense of unity and solidarity among us and forged a determined team that knows, having lived through these experiences, that we are capable of doing much more in the future.

IDS places workers’ rights and social justice at the centre of its political project. Melanija, your political and activist work has ranged from trade union organising and workers’ rights to feminist activism and local struggles. How can these different struggles be brought together to build a left that is rooted in people’s everyday lives – particularly at a time when economic insecurity, inequality and gender-based violence are so closely intertwined?

ML: My political path was deeply shaped by militant queer movements in 2009, when we fought to organise Pride despite state bans. This activism profoundly impacted me, alongside my philosophy degree from the University of Belgrade. Discovering intersectionality and postcolonial thought through feminism, as well as ecofeminist struggles, revealed a powerful truth: a career in the public sector and serving citizens ultimately share the same core goal. Serving our community and society should be the most honourable profession, in which protecting the dignity of nature and humanity as its integral part is inseparable from the impulse of trade unionism – togetherness. Through all of this, the most crucial realisation has been that ignorance is our greatest enemy, no matter what field of action or interaction you find yourself in.

IDS also maintains long-standing connections with left-wing parties, foundations and organisations across Europe. How does the initiative see its place within the broader European left in the future, and where does it stand on European and international questions such as European integration, peace and security?

ML: Our long-standing cooperation with European left-wing parties and organisations is fundamental; without it, we could not exist as a leftist alternative today. Internationalism is our core value, alongside a class-based understanding of global capitalism. European integration is essential to make the world better for all of us together.

Peace is a prerequisite for change, exposing the hypocrisy of Western political elites who rely on fear narratives and Carl Schmitt’s enemy logic to maintain a ruinous economic status quo. The US-Israeli military-industrial complex and NATO make the planet increasingly unstable. Wars never help ordinary people—we in the Balkans know this too well. Ignorance combined with fear is a destructive cocktail. Yet, having touched the generations that built former Yugoslavia, we know that labour and faith in human creativity can still build a life of dignity.

RJ: We see ourselves as part of the broader European and international left, and we want to further strengthen these ties through solidarity, internationalism, and political cooperation. We support European integration, but we believe that Europe as a whole must become more democratic, socially just, and based on solidarity rather than competition and austerity. For us, this also means the democratisation of political and economic life, the protection of public goods and the strengthening of social rights. It also means that Europe must take a firm stance against aggressor states and governments deeply involved in the perpetration of war crimes.

When it comes to questions of peace and security, our starting point is internationalism and the peaceful resolution of conflicts. Coming from a region that has experienced the devastating consequences of war, we see peace, regional cooperation, social justice, and solidarity among peoples as inseparable. We reject the idea that security can be built through permanent militarisation and confrontation. We want to contribute to a European left that connects the struggle for democracy, workers’ rights, and economic justice with the broader struggle for peace, solidarity, and a society in which human dignity and the public interest come before profit and power.

Notes:

[1] Editor’s note: According to official figures, Serbia has around 5.5 million adult residents but around 6.4 million registered voters. While Serbians living abroad can also vote, the unusually high number has raised concerns about the accuracy of the electoral roll and possible voter manipulation. “Phantom voters” are people registered at addresses where they do not actually live, while “orchestrated migrations” refers to the organised registration of voters in other municipalities to influence local election results. Such practices were reported by independent election observers during the 2023 elections, and issues with the electoral roll remain a concern today.

Štefica Gazibara joined transform! in May 2022 as Web and Newsletter Editor. In this role, she curates and reviews online content, maintains and evaluates the website, produces and oversees the monthly transform! newsletter, and manages inquiries from the public and related organisations regarding digital content.  Her academic background is in Slavic literatures and languages, specialising in Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian (BCS) as well as Russian. She is also a member of the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ).

transform! europe is a network of 38 European organisations from 22 countries, active in the field of political education and critical scientific analysis, and is the recognised political foundation corresponding to the Party of the European Left (EL). This cooperative project of independent non-profit organisations, institutes, foundations, and individuals intends to use its work in contributing to peaceful relations among peoples and a transformation of the present world.