Generation Z Protest Movements in Nepal: A Lockean Analysis of Social Contract, State Legitimacy and Democratic Accountability

Abstract

This paper probes the nature and prevalence of Generation Z-initiated protests in Nepal within the framework of John Locke's theory of the social contract. It interrogates how Generation Z demands, articulates, and interprets state's and citizens' rights, responsibilities and reciprocal duty and assesses the impact of such expressions on the current definition of state legitimacy and accountability within Nepal's evolving democratic political culture. Conceptual and theory- driven, the paper draws on latest literature in politics, public policy, sociology and youth studies that have explored the dimensions of digital activism, civic engagement and governance in transitional states. Generation Z activism is analyzed to uncover a transition from state to citizen and the generation's active expression of the divergence between state and citizens, of old forms of state control and emerging standards of participatory citizenry, mediated by digital platforms and global discourses. The process reveals institutional rigidity and absence of effective mechanisms of accountability thereby highlighting the need for change and reform. The conceptual paper offers, the theory of the social contract to contemporary protest action, thus providing a framework for expanding discussion on democracy, the renegotiation of the social contract and the role of youth in a democratic polity and offering to policymakers an instrument to reflect on changes needed for reforms in institutional responsiveness, civic participation and state legitimacy. The paper provides a base for future empirical and comparative study on the political behavior of Gen Z as it applies conceptual theory to democratic debates and policy formulation.