“Corruption Kills:” The Call for Justice in Serbia and North Macedonia

In November 2024, people were waiting to catch their trains in Novi Sad, Serbia, when a train station canopy collapsed, taking the lives of 16 people. The canopy was originally built in 1964, according to the Railway Infrastructure of Serbia, and was renovated in 2021 and then again in 2024, to be officially opened on July 5, the same year.

Serbian students described the collapse as a result of corruption and decided to oppose the people in power. They initiated heated anti-governmental protests against Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vučić, under the slogan “Corruption Kills.”

Only a few months later, a similar wave of anger took over Serbia’s neighboring country. On March 16, 2025, a fire erupted at a nightclub in Kocani, North Macedonia. With only one accessible exit (and a lack of fire exits), inadequate ventilation, and over 500 people present (far surpassing the legal limit of 250), the situation escalated quickly.

62 people were killed, and 193 were injured. On the following day, it was revealed that the club was operating without a license and lacked the necessary safety measures. Similar to their Serbian neighbors, Macedonians began protesting, calling for justice and an end to the institutional negligence and corruption that had long been ignored but was now impossible to overlook.

Corruption. The term is widely heard, especially in the Balkans. It is the news, in conversation, in news reports, and has even sparked protests.

Everyone assumes they know what it is, but do they?

What Does Corruption Really Mean?

Corruption is an illegal behavior, usually performed by people in power. This behavior typically involves bribery or administrative abuse for personal gain. Corruption reaches everywhere – government, media, healthcare, or on a smaller scale – mild corruption in rural areas, which is no less threatening.

Who Investigates Corruption?

The Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime and Corruption is responsible for investigating corruption in North Macedonia. Prosecutor Ljupco Kocevski publicly admitted after the Kocani fire that the incident was a sign of larger problems, such as the declining performance of government institutions.

Transparency International, a global organization that fights corruption, releases an annual index (Corruption Perceptions Index) that measures how corrupt a country is based on its public sector.

For 2024, Serbia ranked 105 out of 180 countries, with a score of 35 out of a 100-point scale, where 0 means “highly corrupt” and 100 – “little to no corruption”. Vučić came into power in 2017, and since he stepped into office, Serbia’s corruption score has been decreasing (meaning that corruption has increased). In 2017, Serbia was ranked 77, and by 2024, it dropped by almost 30 places in the rankings.

The level of corruption in North Macedonia has also stayed constant, indicating a more serious structural problem. With a score of 40 in the 2024 ranking, the nation was ranked in place 88, showing a 12-place drop from 2023.

Is Corruption Necessarily Bad?

Although corruption is usually blamed for the disappearance of public trust in institutions, some experts note that under specific circumstances, it might act as a short-term solution that helps to maintain social cohesion.

“Some would argue that corruption can help bypass overly rigid bureaucratic rules and procedures,… and thus facilitate some economic transactions and contribute to economic growth,“ says Ivelin Sardamov, an Associate Professor in the Political Science Department of AUBG.

Rules are rules, and Professor Sardamov also said that if modern governmental institutions do not apply them uniformly and without favoritism, this will undermine citizens’ trust in these institutions:

“Socioeconomic inequality increases, and political accountability is eroded as citizens develop general resentment and indignation.”

In countries like North Macedonia and Serbia, corruption is more exploitative than effective, underscoring the critical need for institutional change.

Why Does It Have Such a Big Influence on Society?

The problem of high-scale corruption (including political) is that it serves as an ‘agent on behalf of the whole society of a country,’ said Professor Sardamov. “It can undermine trust in government institutions and the whole 'political class' - to a point where the majority of citizens succumb to resignation and do not even bother to vote,” said Professor Sardamov.

“As a result, 'state capture' by private interests can become a seemingly permanent condition, provoking deepening cynicism in an almost hopeless feedback loop.”