Tear gas burned the eyes of Nepalese protesters as the smell of smoke filled the air. Gunshots could be heard firing into the sky. On September 8, 2025, a peaceful protest erupted into violence after the police responded to rocks thrown by demonstrators with gunshots, leading to the deaths of nineteen people. The 2025 revolution was just the latest chapter in Nepal’s long history of failed democracy. For the majority of Nepal’s history, from 300 CE to the 1950s, Nepal was an absolute monarchy. In 1947, the British withdrew from India, threatening the current Nepalese regime that relied on British India for support. The rebel forces within Nepal came to an agreement with the Monarchy, and introduced a democratic political system in a constitutional monarchy. After a few years, the system collapsed and fell into a decades-long cycle of collapsing democracies and oppressive authoritarian regimes. In 2008, the monarchy was officially dissolved, and elections were held. Despite the instability and natural disasters that plagued the republic over the next few years, the current governmental system remained in place until 2025.
Mass unemployment, a failing economy, and rampant corruption in the Nepalese government came to a head as a group of young, “Gen Z” protesters attempted to literally burn down the broken system. Parliament burned in the background while people ran from the sound of gunshots. A sweeping government ban of twenty-six social media platforms triggered protests that had been brewing for years. The ban disrupted the large tourism industry, threatened free speech, and impacted the ability of families to communicate with relatives who work abroad, which accounts for 7.5 percent of Nepal’s population. As the dust settled on the protests, over 77 people had died before the new government gained power, including protestors, politicians, and others. On September 12, Sushila Karki became the first female prime minister in Nepalese history. Elections took place on March 5, 2026.
Over 4,000 miles away and less than a month later, Madagascar erupted into another, very similar protest. In 1896, the French occupied and annexed Madagascar, reshaping the island around their beliefs and goals. After over 50 years of occupation, Madagascar voted for freedom from French rule and founded the first Malagasy Republic in 1958. Over the next half a century, the island of Madagascar went through four republics, countless contested elections, and years and years of instability. This instability culminated in 2025, as issues remained unsolved.
Over 75% of the Malagasy population lives below the poverty line, facing mass water shortages, power outages, and a failing and underfunded education system. The leaders were incredibly wealthy, with the president of Madagascar, President Andry Rajoelina, sending his children to private schools costing over $200,000 in total. The wealth inequality, poor living conditions, and a corrupt system contributed to increasing anger throughout the country. A Facebook page called Gen Z Madagascar became a hub for organizing the protests and demonstrations. On September 24, 2025, the government banned protesting in the capital in fear of increasing unrest. The next day, thousands of people gathered in the capital to protest. By October 20, 22 people had been killed, the National Assembly had impeached the president, the military had joined the protestors and taken power, and a military leader had dissolved the government.
Although these two revolutions began for very similar reasons, they ended very differently. Nepal was able to sustain its democracy, holding elections on March 5, 2026. Belendra Shah – a former rapper and the youngest person ever elected Prime Minister in Nepal – ran as part of the centrist political party “Rastriya Swatantra Party”, or the National Independent Party. This reform party ran on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption platform, something that the Nepalese people were desperate for. They also won the vast majority of seats in the parliament, hopefully leading to a more stable Nepal. The aftermath of the Malagasy revolution is far more uncertain. After the protests in Madagascar, Colonel Michael Randrianirina took control after his military unit joined the protestors. Randrianirina has not appointed any of the important figures from the protests, and most of the former government leaders remain in power. The future of Malagasy democracy remains uncertain.
In August of 2025, comparable protests broke out in Indonesia, as the economy failed and the leaders used the law to benefit the people in power, forcing the government to withdraw the law proposal. These revolutions illustrate a trend all across the world, as government inaction leads to anger. People are tired of the status quo – the disconnect between what the people want and what the government does, and inaction on real issues. The issue in Madagascar that caused the revolution was not the water shortages or the blackouts, but the fact that the government was not doing anything to solve these problems. The government system in place did not represent the people. In 2024 and 2025, a wave of similar Gen Z protests broke out in Kenya, Morocco, and Bangladesh. This trend continued on the other side of the world in the United States. Not unlike the winners of the Nepalese election in March, President Donald J. Trump used the necessity for change that the people were desperate for in order to win the presidency on an anti-establishment platform. In Europe, Viktor Orbán held tight control over Hungary for over sixteen years, rigging elections and smothering free speech, until April 12, 2026. Péter Magyar, the leader of the opposition party, won by a landslide through an anti-establishment platform, further showcasing rising anger and frustration with existing systems.
The Malagasy and Nepalese revolutions prove that the people of the world reject the status quo and attempt to end the systems that only help those in power. Strongholds of power are changing and contorting all across the world – in Africa, in Europe, in North America, and across Asia, as anger bubbles and bursts into action and rebellion. These changes do not comprise one political party or ideology; people from every side of the spectrum are sick and tired of being exploited and taken advantage of for power and money. Change does not come easy, and sometimes it does not come at all – but the people of Nepal, Madagascar, Morocco, Hungary, Indonesia, Kenya, Bangladesh, and the United States show that people will not stop until it does.
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