Youth-led demonstrations that shook Madagascar in late 2025 began as protests over water and electricity shortages. They quickly evolved into bigger demands for political change, forcing president Andry Rajoelina into exile. The Gen-Z protesters (most born between 1997 and 2012) spoke of dignity, corruption and a broken social contract.
A military-led transitional government took advantage of the turmoil to take power. In a new book chapter and co-authored paper published by the GI-ACE research programme at the University of Sussex, Ketakandriana Rafitoson and Tom Shipley argue that the protesters overthrew a captured state.
