From Nepal to Morocco, from Madagascar to Indonesia, many of the anti-government protests of recent months have been led by Generation Z. They are the first generation of digital natives, which explains why the uprisings, born on social media, spread from one country to another without impediment.
From Kathmandu to Antananarivo, from the squares of the Maghreb to the suburbs of Lima, from Ghana to Togo, the same wind of anger blows among the youth of the Global South: this is Gen Z. The same name, the same codes, the same slogans circulate from one country to another. As if an entire generation had found its common language, rebellion is one of the privileges of youth.
There are no summits, leaders, or official structures. Strategies are shared online: blocking techniques, slogans, and practical advice. Everything travels through TikTok, Instagram, and Telegram. It’s a “mobile-first” world, which doesn’t mean escaping reality, but reinventing forms of collective life, experimenting with other economies, and other ways of understanding coexistence.
The preferred platform is Discord, an instant messaging system initially used by video game enthusiasts that now has over 600 million users worldwide.
The lack of centralised leadership does not at all mean a lack of coordination; horizontal networks are another form of organisation, based on equality and self-management. This is often disorienting. Rather than a handicap, the networked leadership of Generation Z protests has, over time, contributed to the movement’s resilience and its ability to reemerge in the face of repression.
These young people’s rejection of words like “modernisation,” “democratic transition,” or “development” represents a profound break with an entire narrative.
All Gen Z protests around the world are calling for a different future and are not afraid to imagine it. The protests of recent months and those to come are not the sign of yet another “emergency,” but rather the result of a deeper, far from painless, transformational process.
Gen Z presents itself as a potential movement for liberation from post-colonial systems that, while formally democratic, have perpetuated mechanisms of exclusion. Elections, in these contexts, have often granted rights and privileges only to the elite, marginalising the majority of the population, especially young people.
The common thread that unites these stories – and others as well – is the hope of transforming indignation into a project; it is Gen Z’s attempt to regenerate new, grassroots politics and force it to move.
Africa. Raising its voice
The average age in Africa is just 19: the lowest in the world. Nearly 60% of Africa’s population is under 25 – the highest concentration of young people in the world – while 70% is under 35. Of a total population of 1.47 billion, nearly 900 million are young people.
In recent months, Madagascar has returned to the centre of international attention thanks to an extraordinary youth mobilisation. The protests, the largest in recent years, forced President Andry Rajoelina to leave the country; Parliament subsequently approved the formal removal of the head of state. Power passed to a Transitional Military Council, which suspended the constitution and dissolved most institutions, leaving only the National Assembly in power, tasked with leading the country toward elections to be held “within 24 months.”
Following the protests last year and continuing through 2025, Kenyan youth are demanding a drastic change in direction from President William Ruto’s government. Eleven million votes: these are the votes Kenyan politicians will have to win in the next elections in 2027, when the number of eligible voters will increase by 11 million —all young people aged 19 to 29. No one will be able to ignore them.
In Botswana, a young electorate eager for change played a decisive role in ending nearly sixty years of rule by the Botswana Democratic Party, which had governed since independence in 1966. Similarly, in South Africa, growing disillusionment among young people also contributed to the collapse of support for the African National Congress, which fell below the 50 per cent threshold for the first time since 1994.
In Senegal, the young people who defended Ousmane Sonko in the courts and on the streets became the electoral base that propelled Diomaye Faye to the presidency in March 2024. After months of institutional crisis, arrests, and suspended voting, it was precisely the pressure from young people and civic networks—heirs to “Y’en a Marre”—that demanded fair elections.
In Morocco, young people are taking to the streets. The violence of repression, however, doesn’t stop the movements. Indeed, it often amplifies them. Police charges are filmed and broadcast live on social media, going viral.
“We demand the dissolution of the current government for its failure to protect the constitutional rights of Moroccans and to meet their social demands,” declared the Moroccan Gen Z212 movement, addressing King Mohammed VI directly.
After months of discontent, the voice of the “Gen Z 212” movement has urged King Mohammed VI not to ignore them. In his October 10 speech, while avoiding any direct reference to the “Gen Z212” protests, Mohammed VI called on the government to “strengthen the social pact” and accelerate investments in healthcare, education, and territorial cohesion, implicitly recognising the movement’s priorities.
A movement composed primarily of Gen Z youth recently debuted in Tunisia. They call themselves “Genz216,” after the Tunisian telephone code (+216). Their goal is to “raise their voices against the corruption that corrodes state institutions; challenge monopoly and economic hegemony; demand equal opportunities for young people and a dignified life for all citizens.”
“What’s behind Africa’s youth-led protests?” headlined the New York Times a few weeks ago. “In just a few months, Gen Z has brought down several governments. Who will be next?” the French weekly Jeune Afrique summarises, while the Nairobi daily Daily Nation headlines: “Across Africa and beyond, youth uprisings are forcing leaders to backtrack.”
Asia. Pressure from below.
Nepal. A ban on social media sparked the youth uprising. The country erupted: the presidential palace and other official buildings were set ablaze. The toll was horrific: around 100 dead and thousands injured. But pressure from below was pushing those in power to yield. Young people didn’t just protest; they also engaged in negotiations with the military and President Ram Chandra Paudel, which led to the decision to appoint a former judge, Sushila Karki, as interim prime minister.
Indonesia. The Southeast Asian giant, with 285 million inhabitants, over 63 million young people under 28 – 22% of the population – a constituency that can shape governments. Here, youth unemployment is around 13%. In the 2024 presidential elections, Gen Z was wooed with TikTok, K-pop, and gaming: a “visual” politics, made of memes and short videos. This summer, a viral manifesto, “17+8 Demands,” circulated among public figures and student groups. The platform’s headlines are clear: high cost of living, corruption, and labour rights.
In the Philippines, too, protests were fuelled by widespread anger against the corruption of the ruling class. The largest demonstration took place on September 21, 2025, in Manila and other major cities, attracting tens of thousands of people. Participants denounced the scandal of “ghost projects” for flood control, demanding transparency, accountability, and an end to political impunity.
Gen Z communities around the world, not only in Africa and Asia, observe and “clone” each other in protest formats, channels (Discord, TikTok, etc.), and even pop culture symbols, as is happening with the flag from the Japanese manga One Piece: the classic Jolly Roger, the skull and crossbones, reinterpreted in the series’ narrative universe, has become the symbol of a constellation that screams “we navigate alone, outside the rules of power.” (Stefano Pancera, Celin Dourf, John Mutesa)
