Young people have been taking to the streets across the world in protest, shaking and - in at least two cases - toppling governments.
They have become known as the Gen Z protests - an apparently leaderless movement born out of a plethora of grievances ranging from broken public services, lack of career opportunities for young people, the gap between rich and poor to government attempts to censor the internet.
Gen Z, in case you were wondering, refers to the generation born towards the end of the last century up until around 2012. Sometimes known as "zoomers," they are regarded as "digital natives," having grown up online.
The protests have so far swept across the world from Bangladesh, the Philippines, Indonesia, Nepal, Peru, Kenya, Morocco as well Madagascar and are ongoing.
These countries have one thing in common - a young population, unlike other parts of the world such as East Asia and Western Europe.
In Sub-Saharan Africa for example, more than 40% of the population is below the age of 15, compared to around 14% in Europe.
Whether the groundswell of popular resentment will usher in the kind of political environment Gen Z would like to see, is hard to predict.
But in many countries, change is certainly afoot.
On Monday, the President Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar fled the country after the military stepped in, following weeks of youth-led demonstrations.
Protestors decried the lavish lifestyle of Madagascar’s rich elite, in a country where two thirds of the population - more than twenty million people - live in poverty.
Before that, in September, the Nepalese government under Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was forced from power but only after a violent police crackdown on protestors left dozens dead and government buildings burnt to the ground.
Now, the interim government of Peru is teetering on the edge of collapse. The ouster of President Dina Boluarte last month did little to quell the protests. But so far, the new president Jose Jeri has refused to step aside.
"History shows that incumbent governments can be remarkably resilient in the face of prolonged protests, though often only for as long as they retain the support of security services," said Sam Nadel, Director of Social Change Lab, a UK-based non-profit that researches protest and social movements.
"Taking the Arab Uprisings in 2011, regimes in Tunisia and Egypt fell only after security forces withdrew support," he said.
In Madagascar’s case, the army stepped into the power vacuum left by President Rajoelina, who reportedly fled to France. Seen as a military coup, the move was condemned by regional powers and the UN.
A statement by the spokesperson for the UN Secretary General called for the "return to constitutional order and the rule of law".
"The Secretary-General encourages all the Malagasy stakeholders, including the youth, to work together to address the underlying causes of instability in the country," the statement added.
However, the new military leaders appear to be bedding in.
"We made the decision because, as I have explained several times, nothing is working in Madagascar," Colonel Michael Randrianirina, commander of an elite army unit told reporters.
"There is no president, no president of the Senate, no government - nothing is working, so we have to take responsibility, that's it," he said.
Asked whether he would hold elections, he said he would, within two years.
Whether elections materialise will depend on the pressure from African neighbours, analysts said.
As for the protestors, their lack of organisation may limit their influence as a new political reality takes shape, according to Frank Lekaba, a political scientist at Wits University in Johannesburg.
Issue-based demands on their own, may cause the movement to collapse he said.
"If young people can organise on a broader agenda than the issues, then you will have the sustainability of the movement," he told Reuters.
Indeed, a lack of leadership may hamper the youth movement worldwide, according to Mr Nadel.
Being "leaderless" can bring advantages, he said, because it's harder for governments to hobble movements by arresting key figures, and it enables more egalitarian and democratic forms of organising.
"However, history shows successful movements have often relied on charismatic leaders like Gandhi or Martin Luther King who can help unite disparate groups and establish strategic discipline around principles like non-violence," he told RTÉ News.
"It's an open question whether these movements will eventually produce such leaders," he added.
One thing the Gen Z protestors are rallying around is a pirate flag from a hugely popular Japanese manga and anime series called One Piece.
The skull and crossbones, wearing a straw hat, has become a global symbol of resistance.
"This logo means freedom for Generation Z because we are poor," protester Mandresy Edouardo Razafimaharo in Madagascar told local reporters.
Meanwhile, in Indonesia, a garment workshop owner told Reuters he had been overwhelmed with requests for the pirate flag during protests there.
"After three consecutive days of being bombarded with orders for this viral flag, we decided to close and stop the orders of this product," Dendi Christianto told Reuters.
Later, the Indonesian government cracked down, confiscating flags and murals with some officials condemning the One Piece Jolly Roger as an "act of treason".
It is just the latest example of young people bringing popular culture into political protest, according to Andrea Horbinski, author of a book on the history of manga, called Manga’s First Century.
The Star Wars TV series Andor, with its theme of rebellion against a repressive regime, has been popular among US protesters for some time, she said, as was the Hunger Games in previous generations.
Similarly, it is the One Piece storyline itself that appeals to Gen Z protestors, she told RTÉ News.
The manga series runs to more than a hundred volumes, but the overarching tale centres on the main character Monkey D Luffy and his ragtag crew of straw-hat pirates struggling for justice under a largely authoritarian regime called the World Government.
"Luffy and his crew have their own goals, but they also help other people who are fighting against oppression and government corruption, and I think that aspect of it has really resonated with people," she said.
The popularity of the symbol at Gen Z protests coincided by the explosion of Japanese comic culture worldwide, she said.
Read more: Madagascar enters military rule after colonel seizes power
"Manga and anime have become globally consumed and just very normal parts of media consumption for people who are Gen Z," she said, "so, when they're thinking: What do I bring to a protest? You think of 'One Piece'".
Asked how she as a manga expert feels seeing this pirate symbol hoisted by protestors, she said: "Good on the kids, would be my primary reaction," she said.
"Personally, I’m glad to see people protesting corrupt governments," she said, adding, "whether the One Piece publisher wants to be associated with anti-government protesters is another question."
"But that's part of what happens when stuff leaves your cultural context," she said, "you can't control it as easily".
