CEO, Allies in Colour//COMPELL – Tharini Rouwette
Today marks the International Day of Democracy. But don’t let the date fool you: in 2025, while democracy is dying in the West, it is being reclaimed in the Global South, sometimes with fire in the streets.
The West’s collapsing confidence
Western democracy isn’t failing because elections disappeared. It’s failing because people stopped believing elections matter. Trust in government is cratering: fewer than half of citizens in major Western democracies say they trust their leaders (Edelman 2024). Meanwhile, the International IDEA 2024 report shows that more countries are sliding into autocracy than improving and half of all democratic backsliders are in Europe.
Nepal’s Gen Z takes to the streets
Meanwhile in Nepal, in September 2025, youth-led protests exploded in response to a social media ban and corruption scandals. Students across cities like Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Butwal marched.
Read more about this: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/08/nepal-bans-26-social-media-sites-including-x-whatsapp-and-youtube
Police fired into crowds, killing at least 19 people and injuring hundreds; days later, the death toll climbed above 70 as protests escalated into government buildings being torched. The result? PM K.P. Sharma Oli resigned, or rather, forced to step down.
On 12 September, Sushila Karki, the first female prime minister in Nepal’s history, was sworn in as caretaker leader.
This wasn’t digital sniping. It was democracy performed viscerally. Protesters used Discord and social media to organize, nominate leaders, and demand accountability, forcing institutional change in real time. Click on image below to read more about this.
Two mirrors, one lesson
If the West and Global South are displaying different crisis phases, they’re driven by the same disease of power hoarding and hollowed legitimacy. In the West, while engagement dwindles, in places like Nepal, young people are seizing it by arming old-school protests with modern-day technology.
Strategic opportunity for a new order
The Global South is rising, not as a student, but as a guru. By 2030, it will generate over 60% of global GDP growth. A refusal to align with Western style democracies, tech sovereignty, economic partnerships are their redefining their global influence.
Perspective shift is needed
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the future of democracy will be decided in the streets of Kathmandu, the voting booths of Mumbai, and the policy labs of Nairobi, not in the ivory towers of Washington or Brussels.
The West faces a choice: stay stuck in its crisis of confidence, or step into true partnership with the Global South, a partnership built on respect for their unique culture and perspectives, investment, and shared passion for democratic innovation.
At COMPELL, we believe the Global South is not the student of democracy. It’s the new teacher. And the West would do well to start listening.