Ep. 12 - Like Frogs in Boiling Water, with Dragana Djurica

We are now moving from Budapest to Serbia, where I am joined by Dragana Djurica — Secretary General of the European Movement in Serbia, who also sits on the board of the European Movement International. Before that, she spent almost ten years as a senior expert at the Regional Cooperation Council.

We begin with a question that concerns far more than the Western Balkans: has Serbia been lost on Europe's doorstep?

For Djurica, the frontier between democracy and autocracy does not follow a map. It runs through people's everyday lives. Democracies rarely collapse overnight: more often, they erode slowly, as citizens grow accustomed to fear and resignation.

As soon as people think there is no point in fighting.

Like frogs in boiling water.

We discuss how the Serbian regime, led by Aleksandar Vučić, has captured institutions, especially the media, through which language and reality are shaped and manipulated. In such a system, criticising corruption becomes an act against the state, while defending democratic values is portrayed as a betrayal of the country.

Yet the student-led protests have challenged that narrative. For the first time in years, many Serbians — adults, too — realised they were not alone, and that it was worth it.

But we should not romanticise protests in the streets. Moral force is not enough: it must become a political strategy. The streets can awaken society, but only institutions can transform it.

On Serbia's future as a democracy also rests the future of Europe's own security and credibility. So let us all remember: the Serbian people are not the Serbian regime.

In this episode:
∙ Like frogs in boiling water: how democracies slowly erode
∙ How autocratic regimes manipulate language through the media
∙ The Serbian student protests and what comes next for Vučić
∙ From student movement to political organisation: what is needed
∙ Serbia between Brussels, Moscow and Beijing
∙ Why the European Union cannot afford to lose Serbia
∙ Serbia on Europe's doorstep: threat or opportunity

With reason, not rage.

Timestamps
0:00 – Introduction
1:10 – Like frogs in boiling water
8:30 – My region deserves a chance
14:35 – How perverse is an autocratic regime
17:25 – Serbians are protesting, what happens now?
18:00 – Regimes have the monopoly over reality
23:00 – When a protest movement organises
27:20 – Vučić first dominated the media
33:00 – Propaganda and LGBTQ+ communities
34:00 – What are Serbia's geopolitical interests?
40:00 – Serbia is a matter of security for the EU
49:00 – Serbian citizens are not the regime

Author and host: Ivan Scalfarotto
Editor and social media: Ludovica Taurisano
Graphic designer: Paola De Bartolo
Visual identity: Martina Santurri
Sound designer: Enrico Cabua