Otpor: From „Living the Resistance” to „We’re Just Watching You”

Otpor was a political movement instrumental in removing the former President of Serbia Slobodan Milošević from power. For the young people growing up in Serbia under Milošević’s regime, it was much more than a political movement. It was the symbol of a generation. By today, Otpor is but something that was part of the chaotic scene of the 1990s, mentioned only on the anniversaries marking October 5, 2000, the day when Milošević’s rule came to an end. The cause of Otpor’s memory sinking into oblivion is the current state of the political system in Serbia. This chapter explains what Otpor was through a brief review of the movement’s history, strategies, organizational characteristics, and the controversies that surrounded it. The constellation of the variables in question may explain much about the absence of a similar movement on the Serbian political scene today.