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Framing Responsibility: A Critical Literacy Analysis of Public Statements during the 2024–2025 Student Protests in Serbia

Krstic, Nicole LU (2026) ÖCKR07 20261
Central and Eastern European Studies
Abstract
Students in Serbia have been protesting and blockading since the lethal accident
at Novi Sad train station on 1 November 2024. For the last year and a half, they
have persistently asked the state institutions to act in accordance with the law.
They refuse to be appeased by the president or scared to submission by forceful
interventions by the police. Instead, they invoke their human rights to voice their discontent and spread their messages and motifs through Instagram and other
alternative platforms. This thesis examines the underlying power relations
between the student protest movement and the president by analysing social
media statements and speeches using Hilary Janks’ interdependent model of
Critical Literacy. By... (More)
Students in Serbia have been protesting and blockading since the lethal accident
at Novi Sad train station on 1 November 2024. For the last year and a half, they
have persistently asked the state institutions to act in accordance with the law.
They refuse to be appeased by the president or scared to submission by forceful
interventions by the police. Instead, they invoke their human rights to voice their discontent and spread their messages and motifs through Instagram and other
alternative platforms. This thesis examines the underlying power relations
between the student protest movement and the president by analysing social
media statements and speeches using Hilary Janks’ interdependent model of
Critical Literacy. By determining the presence of the concepts domination,
access, diversity and design/redesign in the texts, conclusions are drawn on the
perception of responsibility, the construction of authority and how the values
democracy, rule of law and human rights are used in the public discourse. The
analysis shows that the students use human rights to defend their actions and
advocate the responsibility of the citizens to utilise the rule of law in order to
establish a functioning democracy. The president demonstrates a disregard for the
rule of law and human rights, equating responsibility with authoritarian decision
making in the name of defending the nation against malicious enemies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Krstic, Nicole LU
supervisor
organization
course
ÖCKR07 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
authority, democracy, Civil Resistance, Critical Literacy, human rights, responsibility, rule of law, Serbia, student protests.
language
English
additional info
For access to translated versions, analyses and screen shots of posts send an email to:
nicolesmejl@gmail.com explaining your purpose. Any use of these materials should be
accompanied by appropriate citation of the present author.
id
9238252
date added to LUP
2026-09-25 11:27:46
date last changed
2026-09-25 11:27:46
@misc{9238252,
  abstract     = {{Students in Serbia have been protesting and blockading since the lethal accident 
at Novi Sad train station on 1 November 2024. For the last year and a half, they 
have persistently asked the state institutions to act in accordance with the law. 
They refuse to be appeased by the president or scared to submission by forceful 
interventions by the police. Instead, they invoke their human rights to voice their discontent and spread their messages and motifs through Instagram and other 
alternative platforms. This thesis examines the underlying power relations 
between the student protest movement and the president by analysing social 
media statements and speeches using Hilary Janks’ interdependent model of 
Critical Literacy. By determining the presence of the concepts domination, 
access, diversity and design/redesign in the texts, conclusions are drawn on the 
perception of responsibility, the construction of authority and how the values 
democracy, rule of law and human rights are used in the public discourse. The 
analysis shows that the students use human rights to defend their actions and 
advocate the responsibility of the citizens to utilise the rule of law in order to 
establish a functioning democracy. The president demonstrates a disregard for the 
rule of law and human rights, equating responsibility with authoritarian decision
making in the name of defending the nation against malicious enemies.}},
  author       = {{Krstic, Nicole}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Framing Responsibility: A Critical Literacy Analysis of Public Statements during the 2024–2025 Student Protests in Serbia}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}