Closer attention to what happened in Nepal suggests that the government did not fall solely because of the Gen Z protests, but because of the chain of events they triggered. It is crucial for Gen Z movements elsewhere to understand the role Nepal’s youth played in the change, so that their hopes are not misplaced and their decisions not misguided. The story also carries lessons for governments around the world.

Nepal’s Gen Z recently led nationwide protests sparked by a ban on social media but driven by anger at corruption, nepotism and authoritarianism. The slogan “Nepo Kid” helped mobilise young people to reject inherited privilege and dynastic politics. Now that the government has been overthrown, the movement cannot remain defined only by what it opposes. It must advance a constructive agenda. One way forward is to move from “Nepo Kid” to “Every Kid Matters,” making inclusion a central demand. It is essential because the contrast between elite children and ordinary children will remain hollow unless the inequalities among ordinary children are addressed first.

Nepal has recently toppled its government, the fourth such event since 1950. What matters now is recognising that these recurring storms are not caused by failed politicians alone. They come from a “state” that remains unreformed, no matter who holds power. Nepal can end its cycle of revolutions only by reforming the institutions that have blocked reform, protected the powerful and outlasted every elected government.

A government does not survive by force alone, but by the public’s acceptance that it has the right to use force in the first place. Nepal’s government seemed unaware of this basic principle. The little trust that remained, already hanging by a thread, gave way completely on September 8, when police used brutal violence against young protesters. By the time ambulances began arriving with school and college students bleeding from bullet wounds to their heads and chests, the state’s claim to legitimacy was in free fall.

In Nepal, a Gen Z movement recently brought down the government and demanded that Sushila Karki, a former Chief Justice of the country, be appointed interim Prime Minister. Although the Constitution bars anyone who has held that office from becoming head of government, the state agreed. This agreement demonstrated a core idea in political theory that the people, not the written text, are the true source of authority. It also stands as a warning to governments everywhere.