Nepal, Sept. 14 -- The ashes of hundreds of buildings torched across the country by enraged mobs reacting to the government's fatal response to the Gen Z protest have started to settle. The two initial triggers of the September 8 protest-the social media ban and frustration over children of political leaders showing off-have morphed into agendas once believed to be realistically unattainable: A generational shift in Nepali politics and clean and effective governance.

As multiple youth groups try to stake claim to the protest's leadership and to represent the generation in a post-revolution negotiations to form an interim government, the Gen Z representation seems to be hampered by a lack of clear and credible agendas. Political forces, i...