Fragmented Solidarity? Reflections on Queer Participation in the 2024/2025 Student Protests in Serbia

This article examines the experiences of queer students during the 2024/2025 student protests in Serbia, with a focus on how solidarity and identity were negotiated within the broader mobilization. Drawing on eight narrative interviews with LGBTIQ+ students, the study uses concepts from the social movement and identity control theories (ICT) to analyze the interplay between political participation, recognition, and identity verification. Findings suggest that queer students experienced solidarity in fragmented ways. While the student identity emerged as a strong unifying factor, the expression of LGBTIQ+ identities was more complex. A shared student role often fostered a strong sense of belonging, but solidarity was not uniformly experienced. Although based on their sexual or gender identity within the student movement many described a strong sense of belonging, queer identities were sometimes sidelined—particularly when they were not explicitly acknowledged in protest actions, slogans, or symbols such as banners and flags. Solidarity, in this context, should not be understood as a fixed or purely political ideal—it is shaped by lived experiences and structural conditions in the Serbian society. This research is significant for exploring the position of marginalized groups within the Serbian protest movement and for informing future queer engagement in collective action.