Workshop „Protest, Power, and Belonging: The New Face of European Resistance“
Central European University
Vienna Campus
Quellenstrasse 51
Room : C-419
Tuesday, April 29, 2025, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Speaker
Event Overview
This workshop explores contemporary democratic resistance movements in Southeastern and Eastern Europe, focusing on Serbia, Georgia, and Slovakia. It examines how civil resistance not only contests political regimes but also reshapes national identity and belonging in a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape.
The event is organized by the Nationalism Studies Program at CEU in cooperation with Security, Policy and Nationalism Research Center (UGSPN) at the University of Georgia.
Agenda & Speaker Line-up
16:00 – 16:10 | Opening Remarks
Szabolcs Pogonyi (Moderator) – Associate Professor, Central European University (CEU)
16:10 – 16:20 | The Serbian Case
Ivan Vejvoda – Permanent Fellow, Institute for Human Sciences (IWM), Vienna
- The evolution of protest movements in Serbia
- The role of civil society in countering democratic erosion
- Serbia’s geopolitical balancing act between the EU and Russia
16:20 – 16:30 | The Slovakian Case
Jan Cingel – President of the Strategic Analysis Think Tank
- The return of Fico’s government and its implications for democracy
- Judicial interference and media suppression
- Slovakia’s civil resistance in a shifting European context
16:30 – 16:45 | The Georgian Case
Revaz Topuria – Executive Director of the Security, Policy and Nationalism Research Center (UGSPN), The University of Georgia
- Youth-led mobilization and resistance to authoritarian backsliding
- Electoral manipulation and the fight for Europeanization
- Cross-border lessons from democratic struggles in Georgia and Serbia
Nino Gozalishvili, Academic Head of the UGSPN, The University of Georgia
- The intersection of identity, protest, and belonging in the European resistance landscape
16:45 – 16:55 | Towards Theorizing the Resistance
Magdalena Solska, Assistant Professor, University of Fribourg (ONLINE)
- Interaction of institutional (parties) and grassroots (activists, NGOs) opposition actors in resisting democratic backsliding.
- Adaptation of governments’ restrictive strategies to counter civil resistance in Southeastern and Eastern Europe.
16:55 – 17:50 | Panel Discussion & Audience Q&A
Moderator: Szabolcs Pogonyi
- How do these movements redefine national identity?
- What can Europe learn from these resistance movements?
- Future directions: How can civil society sustain its momentum?
17:50 – 18:00 | Closing Remarks & Informal Networking
- Final thoughts from panelists
https://events.ceu.edu/2025-04-29/protest-power-and-belonging-new-face-european-resistance