Geopolitics of Youth

Peru, Nepal, Indonesia, Madagascar, and Morocco: the young generations of these countries mobilized in 2025. Gathered under the common denominator of “Generation Z,” how can we present this movement and define the frameworks of its action?

“Generation Z,” according to some researchers, identifies those born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s. The actions of this youth, which emphasizes the generational marker, are regularly associated with the use of social networks. Indeed, this is the very first generation to be born with these digital tools and to have grown in parallel with this technological development. Almost intuitively, it possesses a form of agility in the use of digital compared to previous generations. It is also connected by common symbols: the flag of the series One Piece, the nature of its demands, its repertoire of actions, virtual or real. Nevertheless, behind this generic term of “Generation Z,” national frameworks and specificities remain visible.

The mobilizations of young generations take place in various national contexts and political systems. Do they have notable common points?

In most observed cases, these are countries of the “global South” with a long tradition of colonial and post-colonial struggles: for example, researcher Alex de Jong shows how the Nepalese movement of 2025 is part of the continuity of the hopes born from the uprising of 1990, which transformed the country into a multi-party constitutional monarchy. However, contemporary dynamics cannot be understood without considering a second element: the effects of imitation between these countries, which raise questions about the unity of ongoing mobilizations. Effects of mimicry had already been observed with previous movements in the 2010s in countries of the Maghreb, with the Arab Spring (2011-2012), in Senegal and Burkina Faso, with the African Springs (2012-2014), as well as in Asia, in Hong Kong in 2014 and then in 2019. Other movements occurred after the Covid-19 pandemic, notably in Sri Lanka in 2022, and in Bangladesh in 2024.

If we look at the structure of all these societies, we can immediately notice that they are generally young states, both historically and demographically. According to consulted estimates, in each case, at least a quarter of their population is from “Generation Z.” In Morocco, in 2024, it would represent about 30% of the population (37.9 million); in Nepal, 9 million out of 30 million inhabitants; as for Madagascar, the median age is 21.3 years (2024). It is not surprising at all that youth mobilizations are erupting in these countries.

Furthermore, urbanization and education levels are increasing everywhere, despite strong inequalities in these areas. The second striking feature of unity is the fact that all these societies are characterized by very strong socio-economic and political inequalities. Part of the population is perceived as privileged, even ultra-privileged, compared to a vast majority that sometimes lacks access to essential goods and services, such as healthcare in Morocco or electricity in Madagascar.

While the political systems are similar, are the demands carried from one country to another also similar?

This is a third element of unity among all these countries: accusations of poor governance are perceived through the lens of corruption, elite privileges, and a growing gap between rulers and the ruled. These are movements that demand similar advances and all denounce material as well as political inequalities.

The gap between elites and the people could resemble the one articulated in the slogan “We are the 99%,” carried by various movements in the early 2010s, such as the Indignados and Occupy Wall Street, as well as by student movements in Chile advocating for a new educational policy, which spread to South America. This polarization reflects a double economic and political inequality. Researchers Albert Ogien and Sandra Laugier observed worldwide in 2014 the repetition of movements launched or invested by the youth around a single slogan: democracy. In their view, this notion encompasses a wide range of demands, from the honesty of rulers to the criticism of the erosion of the representative system where it exists. According to another researcher, Angelo Montoni Rios, demanding democracy allows activists to formulate a demand to which the vast majority of citizens could adhere, while assuming the spontaneous, non-partisan, and mostly non-violent nature of these protests. This is why these causes, defined by Valérie Becquet as “democratic” in the truest sense, stem from demands for real equality among citizens facing systems that are often formally democratic but accused of favoring certain categories of the population at the expense of others, a characteristic accentuated by the neoliberalism defended by the ruling elites.