Although the causes of the protests differ per country, they have generally been in response to inequality, declining standards of living, corruption, democratic backsliding and authoritarianism. Social media has been a common tool for activism and coordination. Some protests, like in Bangladesh and Nepal, have resulted in the overthrow of national governments.
Background
Some of the first political unrest Generation Z (people born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s) experienced was related to the Great Recession and later into adulthood of some, issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
Causes
The demonstrations have had a myriad of causes, varying from country to country. However, they generally relate to dissatisfaction with ruling governments, economic turmoil, and a large, disaffected, often unemployed youth population[3] that experienced declining standards of living due to difficulty accessing basic utilities and resources.[3][4][5] Rising social inequality has also been described as forming the common thread of the protests around the world,[2][6] ultimately feeling unrepresented by the political establishment while still respecting democratic values.[7]Climate change has also contributed to some political activism from Generation Z.[2]
History
Since the late 2010s, members of Generation Z have led protests around the world in what some called the "Gen Z Movement".[8] The Gen Z protests in Asia, also called "Asian Spring" in reference to the Arab Spring, were identified by Le Monde as having begun with the Aragalaya, a series of Sri Lankan protests in 2022.[1] The term was later used to describe the 2024 Kenya Finance Bill protests, a largely youth-led mass protest movement against a controversial tax hike.[9]
The term garnered wider global popularity following the ousting of the Nepali government in 2025 and a string of concurrent protests that occurred around and after it.[10][failed verification] The global wave of demonstrations then reached further with similar youth-led protests springing up in Madagascar and Morocco.[11] In September, an unpopular pension reform and corruption scandals further sparked a self-styled "Gen Z march" in Lima, Peru.[12] The Gen Z protests had thus by that month reached the continents of Asia, Africa, and South America.[13] At the end of September, Italian media noted the large involvement of Gen Z protesters in the country's general strikes and protests for Gaza.[14][15][16] By the beginning of October, 2025 was even described as a potential "year of the protest", a title that was previously applied to the year 2019.[6]
While previous protests in Nepal were initially peaceful or online, a government ban on social media in September 2025 spurred direct action as Gen Z protestors claimed the ban as censorship. The protestors spread short videos on Facebook and TikTok alleging corruption and nepotism.[22] In Morocco, the "GenZ 212" Discord server surged from 3,000 members to over 150,000 by 2 October, showing the rapid spread of the movement among youth.[23] Online coordination, in particular using Discord, was also used for a followup political process in the Nepalese case: the online election of a temporary prime minister for a transitionary period.[24][25]
Symbols
A flag from the manga series One Piece is a frequent symbol of solidarity in the protests.
In various Gen Z protests, the Straw Hat Pirates' Jolly Roger from the manga series One Piece has been used as an international symbol of solidarity.[26][27] This flag was first used in the protests in Indonesia.[28][29] When the government of K. P. Sharma Oli was toppled in Nepal, protesters hung the flag at the gates of the Singha Durbar palace as it burned.[26][30] It has also been used in the Philippines,[31] Peru,[29] and Madagascar.[32][33] The response to the use of the Straw Hat flag has been harsh, with an Indonesian lawmaker saying it was an attempt to divide national unity and another suggesting it could amount to treason,[31] drawing criticism from Amnesty International.[27]
In Southeast Asian countries, other pop culture symbols also have been used to signal defiance, among them references to Harry Potter and the three-finger salute from The Hunger Games.[31]Raqib Naik, director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate, said "I think we are entering a new era of organizing that draws heavily from digital, pop and gaming culture, creating a common vocabulary".[34]
Demonstrations described as Gen Z protests
Countries described as having Gen Z protests Successful protestsGovernments ended by protestsOngoing protestsFailed protests
1 2 Insolia, Mattia. "La marea umana di Milano per Gaza: «Vi aiutiamo noi a definire bambino»". Domani (in Italian). Retrieved 8 October 2025. [THE GEN Z There are many high school students, university students. Many have a kefiah around their necks or Luffy's flag from One Piece, the manga; it is the symbol of Gen Z for protests about Palestine. ... They are between sixteen and nineteen years old and, aware that the future is theirs - that the future is theirs -, they took to the streets because they don't want it, this world that previous generations insist on trying to stick in their heads.]
1 2 Maggioni, Roberto (5 October 2025). "Un movimento che in pochi hanno visto arrivare e con cui tutti si dovranno confrontare". Radio Popolare (in Italian). Retrieved 8 October 2025. [The anger against the genocide has blown up the cap of Italian political and social immobility. ... These days will remain in history especially if we look at them through the eyes of Gen Z, the generation of those under 25 years old, a generation that thought was closed in post-Covid hardship and that, instead, is occupying public space and is speaking, without leaders or organizations already structured.]
1 2 Moro, Elisabetta (3 October 2025). "Avere vent'anni e scendere in piazza: gli studenti occupano le università e i licei per Gaza". Cosmopolitan (in Italian). Retrieved 8 October 2025. [The protests of Gen Z in Nepal, Morocco, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Peru to demand less corrupt governments. ... And now in Europe, and especially in Italy, the occupied universities and the protests after the Israeli army blocked the mission of the Global Sumud Flotilla. All over the world, young people are making their voices heard, they are invading the streets, creating unrest, asking to be heard.]
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