ThinkTankWeekly

In Nepal, Gen Z Gets a Victory—and the Country May, Too

CFR | 2026-03-19 | china_indopacific

Topics: Indo-Pacific

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English Summary

The landslide victory of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in Nepal marks a significant breakthrough for Gen Z-led political movements in Asia, diverging from recent electoral failures of youth-led protests in neighboring countries. Led by 35-year-old Balendra Shah, the party successfully leveraged Nepal’s young demographic—where 56% of the population is under 30—to secure a rare parliamentary majority on a platform of technocratic reform and anti-corruption. This electoral mandate offers a historic opportunity for political stability in a nation that has cycled through 27 prime ministers since 1990, potentially enabling the structural reforms required to address systemic economic stagnation and talent flight.

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