Description
Gen Z “revolts” in the Global South: The underlying causes, contagion effects, and security implications
The September 2025 protests by Nepal’s Gen Z youth, sparked by the government’s decision to ban 26 social-media platforms, brought down the regime within 48 hours. This uprising drew inspiration from earlier protests in Indonesia, the Philippines. Although the immediate triggers of these revolts across the Global South differed, they exhibit common patterns: reliance on social media, widespread violence, and deep resentment against inequality. Gen Z movements have recently spread to Peru, Madagascar, and Morocco, too.
Despite the far-reaching political and security implications of these developments, academic literature in International Relations (IR) has not kept pace. Most literature focus on a single case-study analysis without connecting Gen Z movements emerging in different locations in the Global South. Clearly, Gen Z movements are a new political movement, quickly spreading in the developing world, challenging the established system and powers. Therefore, Gen Z revolts have raised questions: Are Gen Z movements merely responses to the domestic crises or do they reflect a broader failure of the capitalist global system that has produced unprecedented economic inequality? If the latter, will they spread further? Could they become key drivers of violent conflict in the developing world? What will be their global security implications? The proposed paper aims to examine these issues through two guiding questions:
• Why are Gen Z youths rebelling in the Global South?
• What are the global security implications of these violent youth-led movements?
This study will employ a multiple case study approach, focusing on recent Gen Z uprisings in the Global South: Nepal, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This paper will offer new insights into the causes and security implications of emerging Gen Z revolts in the Global South that has received limited attention.
