Nonviolent youth mobilization and democratic expression (evidence from Sri Lanka’s aragalaya in comparative South Asian perspective)

Abstract

Youth political participation has become an increasingly influential force shaping contemporary protest movements across South Asia, particularly in contexts characterized by democratic fragility, economic crisis, and declining public trust in political institutions. This paper examines youth-led nonviolent mobilization as a form of democratic expression, using Sri Lanka’s Aragalaya movement of 2022 as the primary case of analysis. The study adopts a comparative South Asian perspective by situating the Aragalaya alongside recent youth-led protest experiences in Nepal and Bangladesh, where mobilization has also emerged in response to governance failures and socio-economic grievances. Drawing on qualitative secondary data from academic literature, policy reports, and credible media sources, the paper employs a comparative analytical framework to explore patterns of youth political participation, protest strategies, and state responses. The findings demonstrate that youth engagement in the Aragalaya was marked by inclusive, decentralized, and predominantly nonviolent forms of collective action that transformed protest spaces into arenas of civic engagement, political deliberation, and public accountability. Nonviolence functioned both as a strategic choice and a normative commitment, enhancing the movement’s legitimacy and enabling sustained public participation across social and ethnic divisions. In contrast, the comparative cases of Nepal and Bangladesh reveal that although youth mobilization similarly articulated democratic grievances, greater levels of confrontation, politicization, and state repression constrained the depth and durability of democratic outcomes. The paper argues that sustained nonviolent youth mobilization can operate as a democratic corrective during periods of political crisis by strengthening civic agency and limiting authoritarian responses. However, it also highlights the limitations of protest-based participation in the absence of institutional mechanisms capable of translating civic demands into long-term democratic reform. By integrating insights from peace studies and political science, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of youth agency, nonviolent action, and democratic resilience in South Asia.