Short Abstract

Our panel builds on ongoing scholar-activist collaboration and invites contributions that explore the recent protests in South Asia and beyond, to jointly reflect on the functioning and future of democracy and development, particularly the politics of citizen participation and accountability.

Description

Recent youth protests across South Asia and beyond reveal widespread discontent with contemporary democracy and development. The September 2025 "Gen-Z" protests in Nepal, dubbed by some as part of the “South Asian Arab Spring,” followed similar movements in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It was sparked by youth frustration over the state's abuse of power and suspension of social media platforms. Similar protests have rocked Indonesia and the Philippines, centred on corruption and misuse of public funds. These political upheavals have cast a renewed focus on state-society relations and raised questions about their implications for democratic participation, accountability and legitimacy. Critics in Nepal have expressed concern over the protests’ potential to turn violent and fuel authoritarian tendencies (Lal, 2025). Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, youth resentment has intensified due to delays and uncertainties in political transitions.

Do these protests signal significant shifts in prefigurative politics (Leach, 2013)—aimed at restructuring state-societal relations—or represent more transient expressions of discontent? What do they say about contemporary modes of political mobilisation, the participation of movement actors, and their potential to forge alternative futures?

The proposed panel stems from the work of scholars and activists engaged in/researching South Asian politics. While we use the recent protests as the entry point, we invite a range of papers from diverse case studies and perspectives, including development studies, social movement and democratic studies, South Asian studies, new media and communication studies, etc.

Contributions from non-academics working on civil society advocacy, environmental issues, disaster recovery, and youth engagement are welcome.

This Panel has 1 pending paper proposal.
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