Category Archives: Video materials

Prof. Eric Gordy on 2014 Bosnian Protests and Plenums

Professor Eric Gordy, senior lecturer at University College London, gave a short interview for the “Direct Democracy and Active Citizenship,” providing valuable insights into social movements, global crisis of democratic institutions. commented on the what it means to be an active citizen today.

“Time/space can expand. What keeps the institutions closed now is the presence of the vested interest from the past within them. And they are not always going to be there. But a movement that is independent, that is more or less autonomous, has a couple of advantages. One of them is the ability to bypass institutions, to operate beside them independently. And the other is the ability to get attention, which is something the non-institutional movements on the far right know very well. That a few dramatic public performances can change discourse really fundamentally, and is it something the cognate movements on the left are very hesitant to do.”

Besides Professor Gordy, check out the other interviews and video materials gathered on the uprising in Bosnia during February 2014.

Documentary: Bosnia and Herzegovina in Spring

“This short documentary tells the story of the uprising in Bosnia and Herzegovina that started in early February 2014.

Since February 5 2014, protests have swept across Bosnia and Herzegovina. The protests were started by workers from five factories in northern city of Tuzla: Dita, Polihem, Poliolhem, GUMARA and Konjuh. The factories had been privatized, bankrupted and stripped of assets, leaving the workers with large debts, no salaries, no health care and no benefits.

The protests culminated on February 7, 2014 when several governmental buildings were set on fire in cities across the country, including the presidential building in Sarajevo. Under pressure of protests, four regional governments resigned.

The protests were followed with mass popular assemblies, referred to as plenums, that quickly spread across the country.”

Brandon Jourdan is an award-winning independent filmmaker, journalist, and writer. Visit his blog and website at:

Sead Bušatlija on people’s unity

Sead Bušatlija from Plenum Bugojno talks about how people got united during the protests and plenums. “It is all about the politicians fear…We as the people got united through plenums, 100%. Serbs, Muslims, Gypsies, Bosnians.”

We have talked to some of the leaders of the February 2014 uprisings as well with some scholars in the field who offer valuable insight on the situation. Listen to more interviews.

Aida Sejdić about the Bosnian Spring

Aida talks about the injustice that she could no longer stand which was the moment when people took to the streets. “It was not about ethnic-nationalism…this was about socio-economic problems in which we have been all united and we still are.”  Continue reading Aida Sejdić about the Bosnian Spring