After 13 years in power, Serbia’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has systematically dismantled the constitutional order, replacing it with an informal system of governance based on personal loyalty to President Aleksandar Vučić, argues security analyst Predrag Petrović.
According to Petrović, formal state institutions now serve largely as a façade, providing legitimacy and resources, while key decisions are made outside institutional frameworks. The entanglement of security structures with para-political and criminal actors has effectively erased the separation of powers and the rule of law, prompting experts to describe the system as a “politics of destruction” and a “silent coup.”
From Democratic Promises to Authoritarian Reality
The collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad on 1 November 2024, which killed 16 people and injured dozens, and the repressive response to subsequent student and civic protests, exposed what Petrović describes as the true nature of the ruling party.
Despite its formal commitment to EU integration, democracy, and the rule of law, the SNS is characterized here as a typical anti-system extremist movement, seeking to replace constitutional democracy with one-man rule. This system, the author argues, is sustained through myths, conspiracy theories, the construction of internal enemies, and both verbal and physical violence against dissenters.
Conspiracy Theories, Hate Speech, and Intimidation
Petrović highlights how conspiracy narratives—including claims of “hybrid warfare,” “foreign mercenaries,” and “color revolutions”—are used to criminalize critics and delegitimize opposition. Following the Novi Sad tragedy, regime-linked officials and media without evidence labeled the incident a “terrorist attack” and “planned diversion.”
Senior officials, including Aleksandar Vučić, Ana Brnabić, Miloš Vučević, and Vladimir Đukanović, are identified as key drivers of hate speech, routinely referring to opponents as “terrorists,” “extremists,” and “foreign agents.” Such rhetoric, Petrović argues, creates justification for real-world violence.
Escalation of Violence Against Media and Critics
According to Reporters Without Borders, attacks on journalists surged dramatically in mid-2025, following Vučić’s public labeling of journalists as “terrorists.” In just two months, 34 attacks on media professionals were recorded—exceeding all annual totals since 2020.
Petrović notes a recurring pattern:
hate speech by top officials → amplification by pro-government media → physical attacks by party loyalists.
Paramilitary Structures and Organized Violence
A defining feature of violent extremism, the author argues, is paramilitary organization. In late 2024, President Vučić himself acknowledged the existence of a hardline faction within the SNS, known as the “loyalists,” numbering around 17,000 members, allegedly sworn in through ritualized pledges of loyalty.
The most visible segment of this group consists of masked men dressed in black, often linked to criminal, hooligan, and private security networks. These groups are accused of breaking up protests, intimidating students, journalists, and activists, and carrying out serious violent acts, including beatings, abductions, and attacks using vehicles.
Investigative reporting cited in the article documents 96 violent attacks on protesters between November 2024 and June 2025, nearly half involving vehicle-ramming tactics, a method internationally recognized as a form of terrorist violence.
State Complicity and Erosion of Accountability
Petrović concludes that state authorities have systematically minimized or excused such violence, with perpetrators often remaining unpunished or even receiving de facto protection. In several cases, the president publicly absolved attackers, while police allegedly shielded violent groups instead of arresting them.
The occupation of public space near key state institutions by loyalist groups—secured by police—serves, according to the author, as a symbol of institutional collapse.
Conclusion
Petrović warns that Serbia risks becoming a “state of terror” unless this extremist politics of destruction is confronted and halted. The continued normalization of violence, conspiracy, and extra-institutional power, he argues, represents an existential threat to democracy, public safety, and the rule of law.
