Beyond the label <\/p>\n
There has been much discussion in recent years about viewing our era as one of <\/span>permacrisis<\/span><\/a>, and just as much about mass mobilizations at the international level, mobilizations with a strong impact that are framed as youthful, packaged as <\/span>“Gen Z protests”,<\/span><\/i> often with an optimistic tone that can spark utopian discourse and sometimes linked to the permacrisis era, not a <\/span>crisis (\u03ba\u03c1\u03af\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2)<\/span><\/a> in the classic sense of judgment but rather an upheaval. <\/span><\/p>\n The label “Gen Z protests” is used more as a guide to understanding a generation than the movements themselves, linking them, of course, to digital nativity, recognition of a horizontal organization, and a moralized rage. Although rather a sexy brand, this generalization risks promoting these movements as “depoliticized anti-systemic” than diverse content, overshadowing the interdisciplinarity of the participants and overlooking the structural causes that trigger the protest\u2014with the latest and most characteristic example being the case of Nepal, framed in the international news at the beginning as a revolution against the ban on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n With the rise of realpolitik<\/a> as a filter for perceiving things, utopian rhetoric is in decline. Of course, what this rhetoric seeks and what realpolitik considers is another discussion with implications for the restriction of democratic space in favor of an irregular <\/span>stabilitocracy<\/span><\/a>. As for Gen Z, it is not “the future” but already a decisive factor in the present. It is the generation that exploits the speed and interconnectedness of platforms to transcend geographical and institutional boundaries and organize hybrid forms of action that end up on the streets. However, its age identity, as the core of an \u201cenlightened generation\u201d, can cover up the harsh reality of a political economy that breeds the anger of this generation: economic insecurity, growing inequality, the state as big-brother, along with political choices that lead to environmental decline and institutional unreliability, define the framework that drives these movements into action. It is clear that viewing these youth movements under the label “Gen Z” as an interpretive passe-partout is rather inadequate.<\/span><\/p>\n These movements have proven their success at times, with victories such as the withdrawal of bills, but <\/span>absorption<\/span><\/a> by the old political system remains a constant threat.Proposals for inclusive, democratic, and collaborative reforms are being sidelined by short-term anti-corruption campaigns and savior-like movements that address symptoms rather than root causes.<\/span><\/p>\n Gen Z protesters clash with the police as tensions rise in Lima, Peru\u2019s capital city. The protests were fueled by anger over corruption scandals, economic insecurity and other factors pic.twitter.com\/PFtwa2WSya<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Reuters (@Reuters) September 29, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n