9月7日，塞尔维亚在欧洲面前暴露了其阴暗面。在波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那塞族部队前指挥官拉特科·姆拉迪奇的葬礼上，此人因种族灭绝、反人类罪和战争罪被国际法庭定罪。数千人聚集在贝尔格莱德，向一个被视为神话化“大塞尔维亚”英雄的人物致敬，尽管他应对三十年前点燃前南斯拉夫战火的屠杀负有责任。
On September 7, Serbia revealed its dark side to Europe during the funeral of Ratko Mladic, the former commander of Serbian forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who was convicted by international courts for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Thousands gathered in Belgrade to pay tribute to a man regarded as the hero of a mythologized "Greater Serbia," despite his responsibility for massacres that set the former Yugoslavia ablaze three decades ago.
10月25日，这个国家向欧洲展现了截然不同的一面——学生运动以压倒性优势赢得选举。经过近两年的抗议，这股浪潮将民族主义者亚历山大·武契奇赶下了台，而正是他主导了9月的葬礼。武契奇曾希望在自己达到任期限制后，用总统职位换取总理职位，以延续其对塞尔维亚长达14年的掌控。
On October 25, the country presented a very different face to Europe, as the student movement's sweeping election victory. After nearly two years of protests, the wave ousted the nationalist Aleksandar Vucic, who led the September ceremony. Vucic had hoped to trade his presidency, having reached the end of his term limits, for the post of prime minister in a bid to extend his 14-year grip on Serbia.
这种统治地位，加上有关威权主义、腐败和拒绝接受问责的指控，助长了学生运动。这场运动的兴起，是对当局在2024年11月灾难性处理诺维萨德火车站新翻修混凝土雨棚事件的回应——那场悲剧导致16人死亡。没有任何人为此悲剧承担政治责任。当局严厉镇压了最初的抗议，但未能让学生噤声。
This dominance, along with accusations of authoritarianism, corruption and a refusal to be held accountable, fueled the student movement. It emerged in response to the authorities' disastrous handling of a concrete canopy at the newly renovated Novi Sad train station in November 2024 – a tragedy that resulted in the deaths of 16 people. No one was held politically accountable for the tragedy. Authorities harshly repressed the first protests, yet they failed to silence the students.
面对形式与持续时间都前所未有的抗议，武契奇被证明无力应对。在示威进行三个月后牺牲掉总理米洛什·武切维奇之后，他竭尽所能破坏这场运动，但无济于事。他假装倾听诉求——这些诉求很快扩大到包括建立真正的法治——同时又指责学生被外国势力操纵。与学生的要求直接相悖，他加紧了对媒体和司法机构的控制，甚至针对国家偶像、网球明星诺瓦克·德约科维奇下手，只因后者表达了对该运动的支持。
Faced with unprecedented protests in both form and duration, Vucic proved unable to respond. After sacrificing his prime minister, Milos Vucevic, three months into the demonstrations, he did everything he could to derail the movement, but to no avail. He pretended to listen to demands, which soon broadened to include the establishment of genuine rule of law, even as he accused the students of being manipulated by foreign powers. In direct opposition to the students' demands, he tightened his grip on the media and the judiciary, even targeting a national icon, tennis star Novak Djokovic, after he expressed support for the movement.
席卷武契奇的法治浪潮，与今年4月导致欧尔班在匈牙利败选的力量如出一辙。尽管两人背景不同，但世界观相似，都与美国总统特朗普和俄罗斯总统普京保持等距。
The momentum for the rule of law that swept away Vucic is the same force that led to Viktor Orban's defeat in Hungary in April. Although the two men have different backgrounds, they share similar worldviews, placing themselves equidistant from American President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
这位贝尔格莱德的前强人一再声称，将塞尔维亚融入欧盟——塞尔维亚的主要贸易伙伴——是一项战略目标。与此同时，他与莫斯科保持着密切的外交和经济联系。
The former strongman of Belgrade repeatedly asserted that integrating his country into the European Union, Serbia's leading trade partner, was a strategic goal. At the same time, he maintained close diplomatic and economic ties with Moscow.
在取得惊人胜利后，学生运动如今面临新的挑战。他们因共同拒绝武契奇体制而团结在一起，现在必须明确自身的身份与目标。推动法治的努力几乎必然会遭到一个不愿放弃自身特权的体制的抵制。而运动内部部分人表达的亲欧抱负，也将不得不面对亲俄的塞尔维亚民族主义的力量——姆拉迪奇的葬礼 starkly 唤起了这种力量。
After its spectacular victory, the student movement now faces new challenges. United by their rejection of the Vucic system, they must now define their identity and objectives. The push for the rule of law will almost certainly meet resistance from a system unwilling to relinquish its privileges. And the pro-European ambitions expressed by part of the movement will have to contend with the strength of pro-Russian Serbian nationalism, starkly recalled by Mladic's funeral.