In Madagascar, Gen-Z overthrew a corrupt regime but the battle against state capture has barely begun

Youth-led demonstrations that shook Madagascar in late 2025 began as protests over water and electricity shortages.

They quickly evolved into bigger demands for political change, forcing president Andry Rajoelina into exile .

The Gen-Z protesters (most born between 1997 and 2012) spoke of dignity, corruption and a broken social contract.

A military-led transitional government took advantage of the turmoil to take power .

In a new book chapter and co-authored paper published by the GI-ACE research programme at the University of Sussex, Ketakandriana Rafitoson and Tom Shipley argue that the protesters overthrew a captured state.

But what is state capture? What does it look like in Madagascar? And what could happen next? What is state capture? State capture is a harmful corruption phenomenon.

It involves powerful political and business networks reshaping the rules – laws and institutions – to serve their own ends.

Originally conceived by economists at the World Bank , state capture has the distinct idea of “shaping the rules of the game”.

This is in contrast to everyday forms of corruption, which involve breaking the rules.

It’s the difference between the pharmaceutical firm that uses its political connections to lower regulatory standards and the bribe paid to a nurse by a patient to secure vital treatment.

During protests in countries as diverse as Bangladesh , Serbia and Madagascar , the language of state capture provided a powerful mobilising force.

This has brought new attention to a concept which for many years was a niche academic term.

What does state capture look like in Madagascar? It is no accident that Madagascar was ranked among 10 countries at the bottom of the UN Human Development Index in 2025 .

Access to basic public services is low, holding back the economic prospects of young protesters.