Serbia: documented application of the same framework
Academic research base
How do those in power punish and intimidate people without arrest or physical violence?
The government can severely punish a man without imprisonment and physical violence. The critic can lose his job or contract, get a selective tax or other inspection, lose his license, be exposed to expensive lawsuits, supervision, denial of documents, threats to the family or organized public smear.
Each measure may look like an ordinary administrative or private decision, but their sum changes the behavior of those who are not directly affected. The advantage for the government is that the more difficult it is to prove responsibility, and the price of open violence is lower. Nevertheless, an unpleasant or strict decision is not automatic political intimidation. It is necessary to connect the measure with political activity, show unequal treatment of similar people and determine whether multiple actions together serve to silence or isolate a person.
A man can be punished even without imprisonment: he can lose his job or contract, get an inspection, be dragged through the tabloids, be exposed to threats on networks, lawsuits and endless procedures. In Serbia, domestic organizations record such pressures against journalists, activists, whistleblowers, employees and protest organizers. Each measure can look like a separate administrative or private matter, while the collection increases the price of the public.
How the finding is separated in the matrix
NUNS, Civic Initiatives, BCHR, YUCOM and CRTA document attacks, SLAPP lawsuits, work pressures, targeting and selective administrative procedures. FemPlatz documents gender-specific threats, digital violence and attacks on privacy, and the “Croatia II dossier” shows how the administrative decision on residence can be merged with media smearing into a sentence without a verdict.
Soft repression of the government is useful because it produces fear with lower domestic and international costs than open violence and with easier denial of political motive.
Yes multiple domestic records confirm a wide repertoire of pressures.
Cancellation, inspection or lawsuit can be legal. Political retaliation is shown by time, selectivity, disproportion, public threats and the absence of equal treatment of comparable actors.
An unpleasant, strict or even legal decision is not an automatic political intimidation. It should be shown that it is aimed at political activity, that it limits the right and that it does not apply equally.
Works supporting this answer, with their evidence type and an explanation of how they relate to the claim.
review more research
Davenport, C. (2007), „State Repression and Political Order“, Annual Review of Political Science 10: 1–23.
- Contribution to this answer
- Davenport shows that state repression begins long before physical violence: the same repertoire includes harassment, surveillance, bans and other restrictions, in addition to arrests, torture and killings. That is why the fact that people did not end up in prison does not mean that the state does not use coercion to make political action more expensive and risky.
review more research
Earl, J. (2003), „Tanks, Tear Gas, and Taxes: Toward a Theory of Movement Repression“, Sociological Theory 21(1): 44–68.
- Contribution to this answer
- Earl is just trying to expand the view beyond “tanks and tear gas”: repression can use different actors and instruments and operate through legal, administrative or economic constraints, not just through open police force. The point of its typology is not to lose sight of such different forms just because they don’t look as dramatic.
review more research
Earl, J. i Braithwaite, J. M. (2022), „Layers of Political Repression: Integrating Research on Social Movement Repression“, Annual Review of Law and Social Science 18: 227–248.
- Contribution to this answer
- Earl and Braithwaite show that political repression should be viewed in layers: movements are not limited only by the police and physical force, but also by law, administrative rules and other state or non-state actors. Thus, organizing can be seriously aggravated through a series of small obstacles that individually do not even look like “repression”.
Explain how the system works
Ritter, E. H. i Conrad, C. R. (2016), „Preventing and Responding to Dissent: The Observational Challenges of Explaining Strategic Repression“, American Political Science Review 110(1): 85–99.
- Contribution to this answer
- Ritter and Conrad show why we do not see part of the repression as a reaction to the protest at all: the government can act preventively, before the opposition appears publicly. If such repression deters people from organizing, a small number of protests may actually be due to pressure, not proof that there is no pressure.
review more research
Tsourapas, G. (2021), „Global Autocracies: Strategies of Transnational Repression, Legitimation, and Co-Optation in World Politics“, International Studies Review 23(3): 616–644.
- Contribution to this answer
- Tsourapas shows how far such pressure can go: the authoritarian government also monitors people who have left the country, uses digital surveillance and can pressure their families at home to change the behavior of a person abroad. The punishment therefore does not have to be pronounced directly to the person whose behavior the government wants to control.
Sources supporting the Serbia example, with the claim they support and their limitations.
Domestic journalistic association monitoring of attacks - Verified 21.08.2026
Nezavisno udruženje novinara Srbije (NUNS). 2026. NUNS retrospektiva 2025: godina u kojoj je pritisak postao sistem. Beograd: NUNS.
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS). 2026. NUNS retrospective 2025: the year in which pressure became a system. Belgrade: NUNS.
- What the source records
- NUNS recorded 371 cases, including 113 physical attacks and 165 threats, along with legal, economic and digital forms of pressure.
- Claim it supports
- Claim that people can be punished by losing their jobs, lawsuits, inspections, mudslinging and other expenses without imprisonment and physical violence.
- Source limitation
- The register depends on the reported and documented cases, it can overlap with other databases and does not measure the experience of every journalist.
Domestic NGO monitoring of civic space - Verified 21.08.2026
Građanske inicijative. 2025. Udruženja građana — sužavanje prostora za delovanje 2024. Beograd: Građanske inicijative.
Civic Initiatives. 2025. Citizens’ Associations narrowing the space for action 2024. Belgrade: Civic Initiatives.
- What the source records
- Based on the standardized regional matrix and bi-weekly reports, 234 cases of violations of fundamental rights and freedoms were registered, with an increase in physical and verbal attacks and other pressures compared to the previous year.
- Claim it supports
- Claim that people can be punished by losing their jobs, lawsuits, inspections, mudslinging and other expenses without imprisonment and physical violence.
- Source limitation
- The records include documented and reported cases, and not a representative rate of all incidents in Serbia, while the organization at the same time has a clear role of protecting the civil space.
Domestic NGOs annual report of legal aid - Verified 21.08.2026
Komitet pravnika za ljudska prava — YUCOM. 2024. YUCOM 2022–2024, godišnji izveštaj br. 11–12. Beograd: YUCOM.
Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights YUCOM. 2024. YUCOM 202224, annual report No. 11. Belgrade: YUCOM.
- What the source records
- The report documents the gap between judicial reforms and citizens’ experience, the pressure on independence and the obstacles for vulnerable groups to receive effective legal protection.
- Claim it supports
- Claim that people can be punished by losing their jobs, lawsuits, inspections, mudslinging and other expenses without imprisonment and physical violence.
- Source limitation
- It is the report of the organization that provides legal aid and advocates reforms; the choice of cases is not representative for all courts and all disputes.
Domestic NGOs qualitative field research - Verified 21.08.2026
CRTA. 2023. Mreža političkih pritisaka u centrima za socijalni rad. Beograd: CRTA.
CRTA. 2023. Network of political pressures in centers for social work. Belgrade: CRTA.
- What the source records
- Testimonials describe centers as points in a hierarchical network in which business, contract and assistance can be linked to political loyalty and electoral mobilization.
- Claim it supports
- Claim that people can be punished by losing their jobs, lawsuits, inspections, mudslinging and other expenses without imprisonment and physical violence.
- Source limitation
- The sample is qualitative and anonymous; the findings reveal mechanisms and patterns, but do not measure their frequency in all centers.
Domestic NGOs exploratory qualitative research - Verified 21.08.2026
FemPlatz. 2025. Između megafona i tišine: žene u borbi za promene. Pančevo: FemPlatz.
FemPlatz. 2025. Between megaphone and silence: women in the fight for change. Pančevo: FemPlatz.
- What the source records
- Documents a combination of physical, sexual, psychological and digital violence, threats, doxxing and pressure on private life.
- Claim it supports
- It shows how intimidation can work through multiple channels, and without jail time.
- Source limitation
- The sample is not representative, the research is exploratory, and the database of incidents is not intentionally complete; the findings show patterns and experiences, not their frequency in the entire population.
Domestic NGOs documented case study - Verified 21.08.2026
Inicijativa mladih za ljudska prava. 2026. Dosije Hrvatska II: Proterivanje, targetiranje i drugi primeri kršenja ljudskih prava građana i građanki Hrvatske u Srbiji. Beograd: YIHR Srbija.
Youth Initiative for Human Rights. 2026. File Croatia II: Expulsion, targeting and other examples of violations of human rights of Croatian citizens in Serbia. Belgrade: YIHR Serbia.
- What the source records
- Documents the loss of residence, work and safety with media targeting, without criminal conviction against the affected persons.
- Claim it supports
- Shows how administrative decision and shaming can punish a man without arrest and conviction.
- Source limitation
- It documents certain affected persons and the media pattern; it does not show that all foreign citizens are treated equally or that Serbia systematically persecutes its own critics abroad.
Is a relevant source missing? Send it to us.
Suggest a source or report an error in this answer →