War in Ukraine, war in the Persian Gulf, growing stress in the American alliance system, greater cohesion among America’s opponents, social unease about artificial intelligence: 2026 won’t go down in history as a calm year.
Now, we can add generational conflict to the mix. In 2024 youthful protesters drove Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from power and challenged Serbia’s political establishment. The following year, generational unrest shook and sometimes toppled governments from Nepal and Madagascar to Morocco and Peru. The riots that shocked France last week and the “Cockroach” movement across India show generational politics moving from the margins to the center of world politics, challenging established orders in some of the most powerful and influential nations.