Transcription
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Since late last year, mass protests have erupted across multiple countries in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus, sparked by public anger over corruption and democratic backsliding. Which in Serbia, Greece, and North Macedonia have led to tragic fatal events that become symbols of institutional failure. So, in this video, we're going to take a look at all of these protests, the conspicuous similarities between them, and whether they can actually bring about any change.
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First, let's start with some context. Throughout the last decade or so, many countries in Southeastern Europe have experienced declining democratic standards, entrench corruption, and increasing authoritarian tendencies. As a result of what's often known as state capture, which is essentially when corrupt politicians and their networks capture parts of the state and use them to make profit. Through state capture, corrupt officials are able to influence government decision-making for their own private interests, such as taking overpriced contracts or monopolizing industries.
Recent reports from organizations like Transparency International have underscored the persistence of corruption in the region. The Corruption Perception Index, which awards each state a score between 0 and 100, ranging from highly corrupted to very clean, sees most countries in the Balkans scoring below 60. The Global Organized Crime Index 2024 also highlights that high levels of government corruption and blurred lines between public authorities and private sector entities has allowed for illegal activities such as bribery for permits and money laundering.
A report from SDI last year shows that the share of individuals in the Western Balkans who report bribing public officials is roughly at the same level as a decade ago. And apart from North Macedonia, the share of individuals who believe that corruption can be substantially reduced hasn't changed much. This is largely because the crimes of these corrupt officials have largely gone unpunished over the years, as lawmakers can pass laws that legalize state capture, meaning that it's harder to hold the corrupt accountable and easier for a few people to monopolize industries and public resources.
All of this provides pretty fertile ground for democratic backsliding too. And according to this year's Freedom House report, most countries in the region are either considered partly free or not free, with Serbia and Turkey recording some of the world's most dramatic democratic declines over the past decade. As a result, normal citizens suffer as millions are stolen that should have been spent on schools, hospitals, and infrastructure projects. And well, it looks like people have finally had enough, with protests popping up across the region.
Now, while each protest has its own immediate trigger, a common theme runs through them: frustration with entrenched political elites accused of eroding democratic institutions, consolidating power, and curbing civil liberties.
Let's start with Greece. In late February, Greece witnessed widespread mass protests and a general strike commemorating the second anniversary of the Tempe Railway disaster, in which a passenger train predominantly carrying students collided head-on with a freight train, resulting in the deaths of 57 people. This unrest was fueled not only by the country's deteriorating transportation infrastructure and warnings to employees about safety concerns, but also by the major cover-up that followed the crash. Audio recordings leaked from inside the train revealed that while some passengers survived initially, many later perished due to asphyxiation or burns from an explosion that ravaged the carriages. This has led suspicions that the cargo train was carrying illegal flammable materials. While the rapid removal of large quantities of soil from the wreckage site just days after the collision and before all the victims had even been recovered has further deepened public distrust and anger.
A similar disaster occurred in Serbia last November, when the canopy of a recently renovated railway station in Serbia's second largest city collapsed, tragically resulting in the deaths of 16 people. Critics quickly attributed the disaster to poor reconstruction work, fueled by allegations of corruption and nepotism. For instance, the contract's terms awarded to a consortium of Chinese companies that employed local subcontractors were kept secret, raising serious eyebrows. Some of Vucic's critics also claim that the project's cost was significantly inflated, suggesting that some of the funds weren't used on the project but rather lined the pockets of corrupt state officials.
The massive protests in Serbia, which have been led by students, have morphed into wider, recurring protests focused on democratic backsliding and corruption, and they've even spilled over into neighboring countries like Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, who have held solidarity rallies with hundreds rallying under the slogan "Corruption Kills."
It's a similar story in Turkey, where protests this March initially broke out in response to President Erdogan's jailing of the leader of the main opposition party, but have morphed into discussing wider issues of democratic backsliding and corruption, which became an especially salient issue in 2023 following the country's earthquakes, which caused an astonishing 50,000 deaths, in large part due to construction contracts have been handed out to Erdogan's cronies who didn't properly follow building regulations.
In North Macedonia, protests have erupted, albeit on a smaller scale than in Greece or Serbia, following a March nightclub fire that claimed 59 lives. The club, known for safety violations and enabled by institutional bribery, was licensed for 250 but had over 1,500 attendees that night. And this incident is just one of a series of preventable tragedies in the country, including the 2021 COVID hospital fire and the 2018 gas station explosion, both linked to safety regulation failures and poor construction standards.
All of these tragedies reveal a clear and dangerous trend in the region: that neglect, corruption, and impunity are allowing disasters to reoccur without meaningful accountability. Meanwhile, in the broader region, many other countries have been protesting against democratic backsliding too. In Hungary, tens of thousands marched in opposition to the government's increasingly tight grip on the media. Georgia too has seen persistent demonstrations, with protests continuing for over 100 days following the government's decision to halt the country's EU accession efforts. Finally, in Romania and Slovakia, tens of thousands gathered in pro-European demonstrations against the growing influence of far-right parties.
Now, of course, in each country, the protests have different stated objectives. Those in Georgia want a rerun of the October 2024 election that was widely seen as rigged in favor of the ruling Hungarian Dream party. In Hungary, the opposition is also keen to oust Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's long-ruling Fidesz party. In Serbia, by contrast, protesters say that they're not looking to oust the government or stage a color revolution, but to bring in much-needed reforms and to force the authorities to take responsibility for the train station tragedy.
Now, it's easy to be cynical about these protests. After all, you wouldn't want to bet against autocrats like Erdogan or Vučić, who have proven remarkably adept at holding on to power despite recurring crises. Nevertheless, the fact that all of these protests are happening in neighboring countries at the same time, all focused on similar issues, might create enough momentum to, if not force a change in leadership, at least force lasting reforms that could reverse some of the democratic backsliding that we've seen in recent years.
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