A System Built on Corruption and Incompetence Must Fall—Generation Z Won’t Bow, and the Fourth Republic Will Rise!
By: Žikica Milošević
If we express this in French terms—where they are now in the Fifth Republic—we could say that the Socialist Republic of Serbia (NR Serbia) / the Socialist Republic of Serbia (SR Serbia) was the First Republic, the one after the introduction of multiparty politics was the Second Republic and the one after 5 October was the Third Republic. We need the Fourth Republic because the Third has exhausted its potential.
The essence of these protests eludes analysts outside the country because this is the first such protest in Europe—Generation Z’s protest. It might be the second in the world, as similar student protests were recently recorded in Bangladesh. This is NOT a colour revolution because two things characterise those:
A desire to replace those in power—where the opposition takes power and those in power are pushed into opposition. That is not the case here, as students do not seek a government change that merely replaces one ruling party with another previously removed in elections. Among them are leftists, right-wingers, centrists, atheists, believers—everyone.
Revolutions are not about changing rulers but about dismantling the rotten systems that keep the corrupt in power
A desire to change the country’s foreign policy direction—which is also absent here, as there are both pro-Europeans and pro-Russians, along with others. These matters are left to be resolved later. Even Dugin is missing the point. Everyone has a cognitive bias but cannot comprehend such young people.
This revolt is ANTI-SYSTEMIC. The system of the Third Republic, from 2000 to today, has fostered party-based cronyism, corruption, rule by the incompetent, and the extraction of ever-increasing “corrupt rents” while institutions have withered away. The idea now is to reduce or eliminate these elements and establish a new system. Corruption exists even in Finland, but it has taken on forms seen in African states. The rule of the incapable is endemic. And if anyone wonders why students would sacrifice a year of their studies, here’s the answer—what is the point of earning an electrical engineering degree if someone like Grčić can become the director of EPS?
It is, therefore, entirely irrelevant which party dominates the parliament or who the president is as long as the system functions. If the system works, there will be no mad scramble for power because it would no longer enable rule by the worst, criminal impunity, or enrichment through corruption. The current president could even stay in office if he adheres to constitutional boundaries. A crown prince could be appointed as a unifying figure, a monarchy could be declared, or the republic could remain—it doesn’t matter. There is no real difference between the republics of Iceland and Finland on the one hand and the monarchies of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark on the other—they all function because their systems work the same way.
Many have accused Generation Z of being spoiled, of believing everything “belongs” to them. But that very characteristic will be the one that saves us. They don’t perceive barriers between what they have and what they want so that they will fight for it. They simply feel it belongs to them—the country in which they were born should provide them with a chance for everyday life, a dignified job, the ability to buy a home, and a society where the capable succeed while criminals are prosecuted. Right now, the opposite is true. They feel that this country belongs to them and refuse to move. It’s not a case of “we will leave because you are evil” but rather “you will leave because you are evil.” I regret that our generations—X and Y—bowed their heads.
When a generation refuses to bow, the old order trembles—because the future no longer belongs to them
Of course, the West has remained silent on this because they only find it interesting when a real colour revolution is on the horizon—in Georgia or Slovakia, where protesters want to turn away from Russia, or in Romania, where protesters want to turn towards Russia. Here, no one knows the country’s foreign policy orientation if the demonstrators got what they wanted. And that is why they remain silent. The people of Serbia—above all, its students—have been left to fight alone. This is the first deeply anti-colonial uprising in this part of the world.
Twice before, we sabotaged ourselves when we had the chance for a “better life”: in 1990, when we elected all the parties of war and nationalism, losing 10 years, and in 2000, when we allowed looting privatisations and corruption to shape the next 25 years. This is the third chance—to build a new system, not just a new government within the old one. That would be meaningless.
Thus—THE FOURTH REPUBLIC.
