Lefteast
Notes on the Serbian student movement As in many other regional cases, most notably in Hungary, Poland, or Romania, the commonplace framing of the recent protests in Serbia by Western analysts revolves around the protesters’ anti-corruption demands and demands for the rule of law. The baffled Western—oftentimes liberal—mind cannot comprehend why such disenfranchised people would […]
Note from LeftEast editors: At a time when we must keep our eyes wide open, the ongoing protests in Serbia demand urgent attention and support. Students and self-organized Serbian society are offering a powerful lesson in fighting for social justice, basic rights, and the true meaning of solidarity. Events are unfolding rapidly: tomorrow, March 15, 2025, […]
Note from LeftEast editors: This article was originally published on Counterfire on February 4, 2025. On January 28, the ongoing mass protest movement in Serbia brought down the country’s government, inaugurating the biggest challenge to the more than decade-old rule of the authoritarian president, Aleksandar Vučić. The basic chronology of events is now well-known to […]
Note from LeftEast editors: In recent years, the Serbian government has grown increasingly repressive, enacting measures aimed at stifling dissent and tightening control over citizens’ rights. Most recently, activist Ivan Bjelić has been detained in Novi Sad during a protest following the deadly accident at the Novi Sad Railway station on 1st of November and […]
On May 28, the Parliament of Georgia has overcome a presidential veto over the controversial “foreign agents law.” Initiated by the ruling party Georgian Dream (GD) in March 2023, the law soon had to be withdrawn because of backlash. This year, however, the GD achieved their goal. The legislation introduces mandatory registration for any “non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) […]
We co-wrote this article at the beginning of May. On May 28, the Georgian parliament overrode the presidential veto and finally adopted the Law Against Foreign Influence. Although written at an earlier stage of the protests, everything that happened since then has largely confirmed the conclusions we drew back then. Since early April, Tbilisi, the capital […]
The outsized role that foreign-funded NGOs play in Georgia’s politics, policy-making, and public services has led the country into a chronic crisis of its democracy. There is a massive problem at the heart of Georgia’s peculiar political economy. It goes back a quarter of a century, predating the 2003 Rose Revolution. The late president Edvard […]
Interview with Vako Natsvlishvili from the political movement “Khma”. In this insightful interview, Vako, a member of the “Khma” movement, sheds light on the housing crisis in Georgia and the challenges faced by anti-eviction activists in the country. The recent incident involving the eviction of a family has sparked public outrage, leading to the arrest […]
We share this piece by Anaïs Duong-Pedica on the obstacles faced by the student solidarity movement for Palestinian liberation in Finland, originally published by Raster.fi. We find that it complements the reports we have been collecting from leftist activists in various locations in Europe, aiming to alert the activist communities across our region to the oppression […]
We share this piece by Anaïs Duong-Pedica on the obstacles faced by the student solidarity movement for Palestinian liberation in Finland, originally published by Raster.fi. We find that it complements the reports we have been collecting from leftist activists in various locations in Europe, aiming to alert the activist communities across our region to the oppression […]