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State Against the Streets: A Comparative Case Study on State Violence during the July Uprising in Bangladesh and the Aragalaya in Sri Lanka

Srikkanth, Tara LU and Redestam, Saga LU (2026) FKVK02 20261
Department of Political Science
Abstract
In recent years, a wave of protests has swept the South Asian subcontinent. These protests have been spearheaded by Generation Z, a generation that has been described as disillusioned with, and disconnected from, politics. The protests have been met with disproportionate state violence, despite generally following non-violent disciplines. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are two such countries. This thesis compares the Bangladeshi July Uprising in 2022 and the Sri Lankan Aragalaya in 2024 on the basis of many shared similarities but a marked difference in the nature of the state violence they were met with. Through a comparative case study, guided by theories of postcolonialism, authoritarianism, and political polarisation, the thesis found that... (More)
In recent years, a wave of protests has swept the South Asian subcontinent. These protests have been spearheaded by Generation Z, a generation that has been described as disillusioned with, and disconnected from, politics. The protests have been met with disproportionate state violence, despite generally following non-violent disciplines. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are two such countries. This thesis compares the Bangladeshi July Uprising in 2022 and the Sri Lankan Aragalaya in 2024 on the basis of many shared similarities but a marked difference in the nature of the state violence they were met with. Through a comparative case study, guided by theories of postcolonialism, authoritarianism, and political polarisation, the thesis found that the two states share a history of colonial violence that resurfaces in different ways in the modern context. Bangladesh’s high political polarisation and political (rather than economic) protest demands resulted in the July Uprising being met with more violence than the Aragalaya, as Sri Lanka experienced low to none political polarisation and had economic rather than political demands. (Less)
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author
Srikkanth, Tara LU and Redestam, Saga LU
supervisor
organization
course
FKVK02 20261
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Gen Z protests, Asian spring, Aragalaya, July Uprising, State violence, State repression, Authoritarianism, Political polarisation, Postcolonialism, Youth movements
language
English
id
9229067
date added to LUP
2026-06-16 15:14:37
date last changed
2026-06-16 15:14:37
@misc{9229067,
  abstract     = {{In recent years, a wave of protests has swept the South Asian subcontinent. These protests have been spearheaded by Generation Z, a generation that has been described as disillusioned with, and disconnected from, politics. The protests have been met with disproportionate state violence, despite generally following non-violent disciplines. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are two such countries. This thesis compares the Bangladeshi July Uprising in 2022 and the Sri Lankan Aragalaya in 2024 on the basis of many shared similarities but a marked difference in the nature of the state violence they were met with. Through a comparative case study, guided by theories of postcolonialism, authoritarianism, and political polarisation, the thesis found that the two states share a history of colonial violence that resurfaces in different ways in the modern context. Bangladesh’s high political polarisation and political (rather than economic) protest demands resulted in the July Uprising being met with more violence than the Aragalaya, as Sri Lanka experienced low to none political polarisation and had economic rather than political demands.}},
  author       = {{Srikkanth, Tara and Redestam, Saga}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{State Against the Streets: A Comparative Case Study on State Violence during the July Uprising in Bangladesh and the Aragalaya in Sri Lanka}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}