The Gen Z political cost of the uprising in Nepal has been matched by economic devastation, with estimates of collateral damage reaching $21 billion – around half of the Asian nation’s annual GDP.

The protests have left nearly 10,000 Nepalese jobless overnight, with the vital tourism sector suffering 25 billion rupees ($178 million) in damages and auto dealers losing around 15 billion rupees.

What began as a peaceful protest escalated after the government deployed security forces on September 8, with live fire used against largely unarmed demonstrators. The protesters had no formal leadership, with individuals joining voluntarily – a reflection of both the organic nature of the movement and the complete breakdown of trust in traditional political structures.

This leaderless quality, while demonstrating genuine popular anger, also raises questions about what comes next. Oli’s resignation represents a tactical victory for the protesters, but Nepal’s complex political system means that more profound change may be slow in coming.

The UN has expressed readiness to assist Nepal following the deadly protests, highlighting growing international concern about the humanitarian implications of the crisis.

Despite promises of federalism and democratic renewal, the transition has been marked by political instability, with governments changing frequently and little progress on fundamental reforms.

Political instability typically exacerbates existing vulnerabilities, and Nepal’s recent progress on development indicators could be at risk if the crisis deepens. Essential services have already been disrupted, with the country’s main international airport shut for 24 hours during the peak of the violence. The violence has also raised concerns about Nepal’s fragile federal structure.

The protests have spread beyond Kathmandu to other major cities, testing the capacity of local governments that are already struggling with limited resources and weak institutional capacity.

But the crisis runs much deeper than digital rights or viral hashtags. To understand why Nepal, a country of 30 million people, exploded, analysts say one must look to structural issues that have festered since the end of the country’s civil war in 2006. Despite promises of federalism and democratic renewal, the transition has been marked by political instability, with governments changing frequently and little progress on fundamental reforms.

Poor governance and structural weaknesses have also shaped Nepal’s ability to respond to humanitarian crises. The country is among the world’s most disaster-prone, facing recurring floods, droughts, landslides, and avalanches, alongside a succession of devastating recent earthquakes – the worst in 2015 when nearly 9,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands more left homeless.

Nepal’s shift to a federal system that same year has drawn criticism for creating gaps in disaster response and humanitarian coordination, with resources often failing to reach municipal levels where they are most urgently needed.

“We were influenced by several protests in the region, like in Indonesia and Bangladesh,” said Ashish Lamichhane, a 28-year-old environmental consultant and member of Nepal’s youth-led movement.

The Indonesian unrest erupted over lawmakers’ housing allowances at almost the same time as Nepal’s #nepobabies campaign. As in Nepal, the Indonesian protests intensified after the police were accused of civilian killing: In their case, an armoured police vehicle fatally crushed a motorcycle taxi driver, Affan Kurniawan. The news of 21-year-old Kurniawan’s death struck a chord with Nepal’s youth, who face similar economic pressures in the growing global gig economy.

The success of Nepal’s protesters in forcing a prime minister’s resignation is now likely to reverberate across South Asia, where similar patterns of youth-driven activism have emerged in recent years. From Sri Lanka to Bangladesh, young people have shown they can mobilise quickly using digital tools, and sustain pressure on governments they see as illegitimate.

In Nepal, the youth movement’s immediate priority now seems to be establishing a government that can credibly claim to represent change while maintaining stability. This will require not just new faces, but new approaches to governance that prioritise transparency, accountability, and youth inclusion.

“Gen Z broke the wall and now they want experts to take over. No corruption and no bad governance,” said Pandey, representing an older generation that has also grown frustrated with the status quo. “People will come back after they see things are better here.”

Observers say what happened in Nepal last week was not just about social media access or even corruption in isolation. It was about a generation that has grown up with democratic promises but experienced democratic failures, that has digital connectivity but limited economic opportunity, and that has seen their counterparts across the region successfully challenge entrenched power.

Interviewed, Paul Staniland, associate professor of political science at the University of Chicago, sees these movements as part of a new politics of instability resulting from the inability of governments to deliver sustained economic growth, quality public services, or a sense of meaningful political representation.

“When protests surged around a particular trigger, the governments found themselves more and more isolated,” said Staniland, whose research focuses on political violence and international security in South Asia. “In the most dramatic cases of Nepal and Bangladesh, the political system essentially collapsed and the military became the kingmaker in negotiating a transition.”

• A Tell Media report / Republished with permission of The New Humanitarian