Over the past decade, the Western Balkans has faced democratic backsliding, rising authoritarianism, and the instrumentalization of nationalism and religion. Amidst fragile institutions and shrinking civic space, youth and student movements in Serbia, North Macedonia, and Montenegro have emerged as resilient and creative forces of resistance. This analysis focuses on three emblematic waves of student and youth-led mobilization - Serbia’s civic uprising for accountability, North Macedonia’s renewed student plenums, and Montenegro’s “Kamo ?utra?” movement - as critical expressions of generational resistance and societal dissatisfaction.