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About the 215 cases selected
The study selected 215 cases across 97 countries: 209 movements and six separate protests. A movement connects action that persists or recurs beyond one protest. Each movement or separate protest counts as one case.
Cases were chosen to compare regions, political outlooks, young people’s roles and outcomes. Carnegie’s Global Protest Tracker was the starting point, supplemented by reporting, research and official documents reviewed through August 2026.
“Start” marks the first protest included in a case, which may be later than the movement’s beginning. “Protest count” records how many protests the study included within that case.
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What these cases can tell us
The cases let readers compare what happened to demands with people’s ability to organize afterward. These outcomes are assessed separately.
The selection cannot establish worldwide patterns or prove that a movement caused a change. Follow-up periods vary, and evidence is often thinner during negotiations, implementation and later organizing. Some events remain contested or unresolved. “Not verified” means the available sources could not establish a finding.
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Young people’s engagement
The table records the role young people played in each case. People in the same role can hold different political views. The categories do not show who can speak for everyone.
- Youth-central
- Young people led or organized the action, were the main group taking part, or did much of the work to sustain it.
- Youth-influential
- Young people helped shape a wider movement’s demands, methods, evidence or alliances.
- Youth-engaged
- Young people joined action led by others.
- Forms of organizing
- The groups and networks involved. A case can include several forms.
- Decision-making authority
- How decisions were made: through participation, by organizations or sectors, or across several actors. “Unclear” means the evidence does not establish where authority lay.
- Demand areas
- The issues people raised. A case can include several areas.
- Demand pattern
- Whether people sought changes in daily life, such as work, education or services; changes in public power and accountability; or both.
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Institutional responses and collective capacity
An announcement, a formal process, an adopted decision and implementation are different stages. Even an implemented decision may leave the central demand unresolved. “How far the demand advanced” therefore records progress separately. “Clear substantive change” means a verified change in law, policy, officeholders or institutions; it can include changes adverse to the movement.
Collective capacity is people’s ability to organize and act together. “Capacity change” records whether that ability grew. “What remained after the episode” records whether an organization, wider network or issue continued. Continued activity does not itself establish stronger capacity or influence.
The coding also records force or restrictions, whether authorities’ conduct became a new grievance, and later erosion or reversal. Findings reflect the evidence available at each case’s review date.
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Connections across borders
Connections can include solidarity, diaspora support, shared practices or symbols, and international legal or diplomatic processes. Several forms can appear in one case. A shared symbol does not establish a common organization, and an international institution’s involvement does not establish that it secured a remedy.
The coding distinguishes a documented cross-border connection, a legal or diplomatic route, and the type of multilateral body involved. A legal route alone may not establish a cross-border connection. Case details identify findings that remain unclear.
