Introduction

The current political situation in Serbia can be described in terms of low-intensity conflicts. The ruling conservative Serbian Progressive Party faces several structural problems. First of all, the change in the international context, first Biden’s victory in the United States and then the withdrawal of Angela Merkel from the position of German Chancellor, weakened Serbia’s global position. In such circumstances, and under pressure due to the lack of desire for dialogue on the Kosovo issue, the Serbian nationalist ruling class again reached for the card of nationalism. Following the example of Putin’s Russia and the creation of the so-called Russian world, which would include all countries from the environment that Russia wants to influence on from the ruling party in Serbia, the idea of ​​a Serbian world was launched, which would include all those countries where Serbs make up a significant minority. Besides Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro has become a hotspot of Serbian nationalist engineering. With the help of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which has important political influence, the money from Serbia was a key factor in the triumph of the Serbian nationalist opposition in the Montenegrin elections. It didn’t stop there, so with a significant investment in the purchase of weapons, Serbia again started threatening the countries in the western Balkans region with the new war. First of all, Croatia and second, undermining BiH from inside through the Republika Srpska. This brings us to a situation where relations with neighbouring countries have been at their lowest level since the end of the wars of the 1990s, so the media often hears the thesis that we are on the brink of new wars. Hungary and Erdogan in Turkey are the only allies in the region for the ruling party. At the domestic level, nationalism is used by the right-wing government and the opposition, which is essentially in the position of aggressive nationalism but without expansionist aspirations. The regime uses its position, practically without opposition in the parliament, to place various dubious investments and install dirty technologies, first with the Chinese company Ling Long and then with the Australian company Rio Tinto for the extraction and exploitation of lithium. This provoked mass protests and roadblocks and even blocked the border crossings by environmental NGOs and directly endangered citizens. To which the government responded with partial repression in which environmental and minority NGOs were targeted. The attacks are aimed at individuals and groups that the government traditionally considered hostile. NGOs that fight for human rights. As a soldier for the attacks, the regime uses right-wing groups under its control, which, in indiscriminate violence, attack not only those who target the regime but also their NGOs, which spread to NGOs defending human and minority rights and the LGBTQ population. In a situation where the pandemic has been going on for three years, when the health system is burdened, and inflation affects the poorest sections of the population, the situation is suitable for the rise of the far-right and populist movements. Unfortunately, there is no organised political force that can articulate these problems. The elections that will be held in the spring will not shake the regime or the ruling party, and thus not the far right, which works for the regime and does business with them.

Status of the far-right in the country

There is no great risk of indigenous far-right violence, as the regime and the ruling party keep most far-right groups and organisations under their control. However, traditionally, minority groups and organisations (Roma and the LGBTQ population), as well as immigrants, are endangered. On the other hand, the presence of the far right in the public and media is consistent. Representatives of far-right organisations associated with the regime are often in the media. Since the ruling party was formed by splitting the far-right Serbian Radical Party, some of its officials are also very close to far-right ideas. They even gave far-right individuals positions in the administration. The best example of this is Arno Gujon, who in 2012 was even the presidential candidate of the identity movement in France, after which he founded a “humanitarian organisation” that helped Serbs in Kosovo. In 2020, he was appointed Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The far-right groups and organisations act as an extended arm of the regime in Serbia, and that is why they are freely allowed to organise and develop.

Groups and organisations

Belgrade & Novi Sad Nationalists

A new network of far-right organisations that is specific compared to the previous ones. First, it is not tied to the states of the structure, nor is it in favour of Russia. Ukraine has become a new centre of gathering and financing. A network consisting mostly of younger activists who did not play a special role on the far right in the past. The leaders of this group are the American neo-Nazi Robert Rundo, t and a former member of the far-right Serbian radical party and the founder of the identity movement in Serbia, Aleksandar Vorkapić.

Leviathan “National Defense”

They were led by Pavle Bihaly, a former member of the neo-Nazi Unite force ultras group. They hide their far-right activities by caring for animals.

Serbian party “Zavetnici”

A clerical far-right movement is trying to enter parliament led by Milica Djurdjevic Stemenkovski.

Serbian Right

The Serbian Right is a far-right organisation that is self-determining. It advocates traditionalism, patriotism, a healthy society, and Eurasian integration. The leader of the Serbian Right is Miša Vacić.

Anti-immigrant People’s Patrols

Far-right organizations and individuals gathered around the group “No Surrender of Kosovo and Metohija” in Belgrade and formed People’s Patrols, led by Damnjan Knezevic, to monitor migrants.

The “Dveri” movement

A clerical right-wing movement that advocates the establishment of a “class monarchy” and a symphony of state and church. The leader of this movement is Boško Obradović.

Blood and Honor”Serbia.

Founded on June 25, 1995. The Serbian branch is an organization that gathers domestic Nazi skinheads.  Led by Predrag ‘Peca Pop’ Milovanović Đorđe Bojić ‘George’ – importer of neo-Nazi clothing ‘Beloyar.

MC Srbi

The organization was formed in 2012 and is a group of neo-Nazis registered as a Moto Club. This group represents the most organized and most dangerous far-right group in Serbia. Led by Viktor Petrović owner of the club 28 they are very prone to use of physical violence and firearms.

The far right in Serbia chooses groups from the margins (Roma, migrants, LGBTQ population) as their enemies. Organised anti-migrant patrols patrolled the buildings of Serbia and harassed migrants. Attacks on the LGBT population most often take place during Pride Week. Roma are attacked mainly by the Leviathan organisation for alleged animal cruelty. Conflict between far-right groups has always existed, but last year, thanks to the role of American neo-Nazi Robert Rundo, one of the founders of the Rise Above Movement, the split is definitive. The far right is divided into pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian parts.

Status of antifascists in the country

Anti-fascists are mostly active in organising protests when an attack occurs or blockading the streets if the far right wants to march. The most common form of organisation is informal in anti-fascist action. There are anti-fascist organisations in a large number of cities: Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis, Kragujevac, Sombor, Subotica, and Kraljevo are just some of them. The biggest concern is the safety of vulnerable groups (Roma Migrant LGBTQ activists fighting for human and minority rights of feminist organisations) and preventing discrimination and physical violence against them. Since organisations are at different levels of organisation, those groups that are just starting are helped by the more experienced ones. Cooperation between anti-fascist groups and collectives is at a pretty good level, but the problem is political media and ideological marginalisation by the mainstream. The only conflicts that exist among anti-fascist groups are those on the ideological line because many liberals want to present themselves as anti-fascists and pacify militant anti-fascist organisations. Apart from endangering security, the most significant risks come down to the fact that the repressive organs of the state and most of the political mainstream are on the side of the fascists because they present themselves as patriots and nationalists, which is normalised and concerned positively in Serbia. Mainstream politicians, centre-right, conservatives, and even liberal ones justify the actions of the far right, and anti-fascists are increasingly seen as either as extreme as a fascist only on the other side of the spectrum or as terrorists. Which is a consequence of alt-right propaganda.

Historic developments

The political mainstream normalised nationalism as the ruling political ideology through the wars of the 1990s and the disintegration of Yugoslavia. In Serbia, the attitude of the ruling regimes and the state towards various fascist, extreme right and neo-Nazis groups was, during the entire period from 1990 until today, extremely tolerant and pragmatic. The Milosevic regime instrumentally used fascist organisations as a reserve means of terror during its war policy. After the regime change in 2000, the ruling parties propagated the so-called conservative ideology of “Democratic nationalism”, in which the activities of extreme right groups are presented as something completely normal and politically legitimate, given their predominantly anti-communist orientation. The growing political influence of the Serbian Orthodox Church and its clerical conservatism was, and still is, a significant support to the activities of these organisations and groups. For over two decades, the Serbian Radical Party has been an organisation that brings together mostly all far-right actors in Serbia. The reshuffling of forces on the extreme right has been visible since 2008 when the Serbian Progressive Party SNS was founded with a split within the Serbian Radical Party. After seizing the power of the Serbian Progressive Party SNS led by Aleksandar Vučić, the situation among extreme right-wing organisations has changed drastically. One of the reasons why the far right has so far not had much political support is that the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has entered the broadest strata of society and covered a large part of the right spectrum, thus passivising the political influence of the far right.

On several occasions, the far right tried to organise mass demonstrations through the organisation of the so-called Serbian March. Each time, anti-fascist organisations managed to prevent these attempts by organising protests and manifestations. Conflicts between the far right and anti-fascists go back two decades and are constant. Several times, anti-fascists have been severely injured, but anti-fascist organisations have been constantly whining about these conflicts since 2005. Even though the political establishment part of the media and police support the far right, anti-fascists are successfully opposing any autonomous attempt of political organisation of the far right. However, there were violent actions taken by fascists and far-right with mortal consequences. In October 1997, two neo-Nazi skinheads murdered thirteen-year-old Roma Dragan Jovanović on the street. In 2001 also, a neo-Nazis member of Blood and Honor murdered famous actor Dragan Maksimović. 

The far-right has had several important points in its history. First of all, it is the Disintegration of the SFRY and the war that followed, where they had the opportunity as volunteers to learn how to handle weapons and radicalise; that is the first generation of the far right. Then, the war in Kosovo and the bombing by the NATO pact, where again under arms, they created several myths on which even today their actions are based, the dates of the beginning of the bombing and the battle of Košare.  The next point was at the time of the attempt to organise the first Pride in 2001 when part of the far right organisation was constituted on the issue of preventing pride. The last and still current thing is the year 2008, when Kosovo declared independence. On this issue, they successfully recruit primarily young people, who are taught through the education system that Kosovo is still part of Serbia.

The narrative of the far right has changed several times. In the 1990s, they didn’t mind being called Nazi skinheads because no one persecuted them in public for it. After the fall of Slobodan Milosevic’s regime, they adopted the phrase Nationalists / Patriots, which some of them still use, especially when it comes to defending Kosovo and myths about it or defending convicted war criminals Karadzic and Mladic. 2015, when the first wave of migrants arrived in Serbia, and in 2016, after Trump’s victory in the US elections, a new generation of far-rightists began to call themselves sovereigntists or defenders of Christian Europe and identity.

International relationships

Almost all far-right organisations have a very good network of international contacts. Very often, neo-Nazis and far actors from Western and Eastern Europe and the United States of America come to Serbia at the invitation of some of their related organisations, and they are also very often hosted by the institutions of the state of Serbia. In the last few years, Jim Dawson and Nick Griffin visited Serbia at the invitation of Serbian Right, followed by Roberto Fiore from the Italian fascist organisation Forza Nuova. German far-right Gec Kubicek gave a lecture at Matica Srpska. Arno Gujon, who has already been mentioned, reached the place inside of the Serbian government, and his anti-immigrant and extreme right-wing network, which he formed in the north of Kosovo and in Serbia, is on the budget. The last in the line of right-wingers is the American neo-Nazi Robert Rundo. He lived in Serbia from March 2020 to February 2021, and since August, he has been in Belgrade again. Many right-wingers from various countries who committed some crimes have been hiding in Serbia for some time.

This is the case with Ilya Gorjachev, who is suspected of the murder of Stanislav Merkelov and Anastasia Baburova. He hid in Serbia for several months in 2013.

The latest case is that of the former envoy of the Golden Dawn, Christos Papas, who was committed by the Greek court and also found a shelter in the monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Serbia in May last year.

Political landscape

There is currently no parliamentary far-right party in Serbia. Several of them are appearing in the elections, and one of them has already been a member of parliament.

The Dveri movement originated in the mid-1990s and originated from the magazine of the same name. In the year when the Pride Parade 2010 was attempted, this organisation, in response to the Pride Parade, organised the so-called “Family Walk”, in which several thousand people participated, which was held under the slogan of promoting traditional values. The following year, 2011, right-wingers gathered around the magazine and registered a political organisation of the same name. In the 2012 and 2014 elections, they gained about 3% of the vote and failed to pass the census and enter parliament. In the 2016 elections, in a coalition with the Democratic Party of Serbia, they passed the census and entered parliament. They positioned themselves as right-wing opposition to the regime. In 2020, they launched a racist anti-immigrant campaign called “Oslobođenje” ( Liberation) in several cities in Serbia. They did not participate in the 2020 elections and are no longer a parliamentary party.

The Zavetnici movement has been active since 2012. In the 2016 parliamentary elections, Zavetnici remained far below the threshold, with less than one per cent of the vote. In the middle of 2019, Serbian partie Zavetnici claimed that they intend to “Provide an alternative to people who find themselves neither in the governing structure nor in the Alliance for Serbia, as an opposition bloc.” In 2020, they participated in the elections and won 1.5% of the vote

Serbian Right is a far-right organisation founded in June 2018. It has been self-determining from the start by advocating traditionalism, patriotism, a healthy society, and Eurasian integration. The leader of the Serbian right is Miša Vacić. He became known to the general public for inciting hatred towards LGBT people on the Pride parade in 2009. After that, he became the leader of the extreme right-wing movement “1389”, which in 2018 was merged into the newly formed Serbian right. The political connection between the Serbian right and its leader and the government has always been open, so Miša Vacić was briefly appointed in 2017 as an advisor to the director of the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Đurić. In the 2016 and 2020 elections, the Serbian right participated but brought about 1% of the vote and remained below the threshold.

The Leviathan movement also participated in the 2020 parliamentary elections in a coalition with the anti-vax movement Alive for Serbia, receiving about 0.8% of the vote and remaining outside parliament. Most of the movements and parties of the far right that participate in the elections are close to the ruling party and, with their financial help, participate in the campaign. The main determinants of the parliament’s far-right policy are opposition to Serbia’s entry into Euro-Atlantic integration. In defending Kosovo,  not recognise Kosovo as an independent state and opposing Immigrants. Lately, the narrative has shifted due to the pandemic and the refusal to respect anti-COVID measures and vaccination.

Media landscape

Blood and Honor has developed publishing business books, brochures and magazines that propagate neo-Nazi and racist ideology. The far-right generally does not own its media or try to have its own newspapers or publications. Other far-right groups use the mainstream media and the Internet (primarily social networks) to promote their ideas. Their narrative ranges from defending Europe from the invasion of migrants and Serbia as a bulwark of Christianity through the defence of Kosovo to the promotion of racial and national hatred and intolerance. The so-called humanitarian activities have a special place in the narrative, where the far right shows itself as a humanitarian organisation, but behind that again stands nationalism and racism because such organisations help only Serbian Orthodox and whites. The media reports on the far right in a very sensational way, primarily out of context and with little data available. Those organisations are close to the ruling party. In the media, which was close to the regime or in state public services, the opposition received attention from the media.

Financial landscape

Funding of far-right organisations can be divided into several levels, depending on how close the organisation is to the ruling party, whether it is pro-Russian or pro-Ukrainian, and whether it is a party or a movement.

Blood and Honour of Serbia owns several streetwear brands that are very popular among the far right. These are the “Otadžbina”, which also has its store, then the “Avangarda,” the Russian neo-Nazi brand “Beloyar” and “Vandalist.

Organizations and parties close to the ruling party have their own NGOs and their own foundations, which are abundantly financed and supported through the far right in the government and administration (Arno Gujon, but also the Chancellery for Kosovo and Metohija). In that way, the Serbian Right Zavetnici and the Leviathan movement are financed.

The Dveri movement stands out as one of the few organisations funded by Western sources. Their closeness to the German AFD party and their open cooperation so far indicate the sources from which they are financed. Obradović boasted that he had “a long-standing cooperation” with the AfD, and especially with Meuthen. But, he added, “Today we have the chance to meet the co-chairman of the AfD Tin Kurpalla, as well as his parliamentary group in the Bundestag.” the AfD-owned Desiderius-Erasmus-Stiftung unofficially announced that is going to support  Obradović and Dveri in Serbia.

The newly formed far-right network run by Robert Rundo and Aleksandar Vorkapic is being funded, according to a streetwear company which Rundo opened in Serbia. However, the Hero Foundation, which is also part of the network, is abundantly financed from the local budgets of Novi Sad and the municipality of Odzaci. There are indications that the Ukrainian Battalion of Azov and the Hungarian far right are involved in financing the new network of the far right.