Local elections in Kosovo, often overshadowed by national politics, are once again burdened by unresolved questions of sovereignty, legitimacy, and ethnic division. The crisis in the Serb-majority North reveals how deeply national conflicts continue to shape local governance and daily life.

In November 2024, the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad killed 16 people and sparked the largest student-led protests in Serbia's modern history. Initial grief gave way to a decentralised movement that is demanding accountability, far-reaching reforms and new elections, despite brutal repression by the regime. The protests have exposed the failure of 'stabilitocracy' and brought Serbia's democratic future — and the EU's role in it — to the forefront of political debate.

More than 25 years after the bombing campaign that ended the war in Kosovo, this conversation between Granit Gashi and Nemanja Georgijević, now colleagues at the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Belgrade, displays their parallel yet contrasting experiences – one as a child refugee forced from his Peja home, the other as a four-year-old in Belgrade learning about the world through state television and family conversations – illuminating how the same historical moment was experienced and processed differently on each side. Interview by Milan Bogdanović. 

Milenko Živanović was acquitted on July 1, 2025, before the Higher Court in Belgrade on all counts of the indictment that charged him with ordering the forcible displacement of civilian population from the zone of responsibility of the Drina Corps, as well as with participating, through his orders and actions, in the forcible displacement of civilians from the protected zone of Srebrenica. The general's defense team included his chosen lawyer, the public prosecutor, and the judicial panel.

We are seeking a motivated intern to join our Belgrade office team for a 6-month internship starting in August 2025. This is an excellent opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the work of a political foundation while contributing to meaningful projects in democracy, human rights, and environmental sustainability.