Every generation is influenced by many things that establish their upbringing. Those can vary from technological developments to events that shape the domestic or global sphere. Such influences can be seen in many actions the generation takes, and one of those things is what they fight for and how they do it. Different generations’ forms of protest can be seen vividly in the differences between the Gezi Park Protests in 2013 and the March 19 protests in 2025, in Türkiye. However, the reasons for these protests were different; the hope for change and bravery to stand up for what they believe is right were the same. 

The Gezi Park protests started out in 2013 as an environmental sit-in against the government’s plan to redevelop Gezi Park into a commercial development. Despite starting in İstanbul; the protest quickly spread nationwide as it encouraged people to protest broader issues, including political repression, government outreach, and restrictions on civil liberties. The movement became a symbol of wider discontent with the Turkish government under then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Over time, the Gezi Park protest came to represent a larger struggle for rights and freedoms among many Turks and remained a reference point for later protests.

The Gezi Park Protests very quickly became a movement much broader than what it was planned to be at the start; a spontaneous, pluralistic, youth-led eruption against state overreach, police brutality, and restrictions of freedoms. Many participants of these protests were Millennials (Gen Y), who grew up at a time of significant urban growth, rapid technological adoption and expanding access to higher education. Unlike earlier cohorts shaped by military coups or ideological party politics, many Gezi protesters entered public life with a belief that society was becoming more open and dynamic. They were accustomed to global culture, skilled with digital technologies and used social media not only for posting photos but to organize debates and build a community.

The Gezi movement was distinct for its ideological breadth and pluralism. People from feminist, environmental, LGBTQ+, worker, nationalist, and liberal circles all found common cause in resisting what they perceived as authoritarian tendencies by the ruling party. For these millennials, the protest was less about one clear political program and more about claiming social space, defending civil liberties, and practicing a new kind of participatory politics. Many had never protested before but felt compelled to act when the state used heavy police force against peaceful demonstrators.

On the other hand, the March 19 protests that happened in 2025 began with the arrest and detention of Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, a leading opposition figure with a strong national support. Imamoğlu is a member of CHP (Republican People`s Party)  and was the opposition’s presidential candidate before and after his detention. After his detention, mass protests spread not just in Istanbul but also to many provinces involving students, opposition groups and wider civil society. Authorities detained and arrested thousands of people for participating in these protests. Protesters framed their actions not just around Imamoğlu’s arrest but as a resistance to the perceived erosion of democratic norms in Turkey. Unlike the Gezi generation, however, Gen Z in Turkey was raised in an atmosphere of constant centralization in politics and an increasingly uncertain economic landscape. The Gen Z does not have any recollection of a more liberal political atmosphere, remembering politics always as increasingly constricted and democratization as stalled. They saw high inflation, failed job opportunities for graduates, and perceptions of corruption combined with nepotism. To them, politics is no longer an arena of possibility, but merely an impediment.

Protest by the members of Gen Z is highly digitally embedded. Unlike the Millennials, who, from the time of the Gezi protests, were introduced to a relatively new empowering technology, Gen Z has never existed in a world without social media. Twitter and Discord are not auxiliary spaces for Gen Z activists to engage with others; they are principal domains. Thus, protest by Gen Z is inherently hybrid: online, offline, global, and local. Many of them protest not only against particular issues or grievances but also what they believe to be a systemic erosion of opportunity. Their rhetoric is as much humorous as ironic: a mixture of digital perception and political disillusionment.

The major difference between the two generations is related to their perception of risk and authority, especially in comparison to each other. In contrast to Millennials, who during the Gezi Park protests confronted further tendencies toward centralization in spaces where there were also visible areas of negotiation, Generation Z has a much more pronounced perception of repression by the state. Having faced power structures throughout their lives, this generation approaches protests in a much more calculating manner. It is also worth mentioning that this awareness does not make Generation Z more reluctant in their protests, but rather more resolute. This influence is further elaborated within generational socialization. Gezi’s Millennials emphasized horizontal organization and broad coalitions across ideological divides. Protest space became a site of communal identity building and consensus-driven participation. Generation Z, in contrast, often engages in networks around specific, targeted goals. Their protest is an affair of efficiency and rapid coordination, born from a context in which opportunities feel constricted and urgency is high. Inclusivity can be present in this activism, but one finds effectiveness prioritized.

Psychologically, the two generations show different orientations toward change. The protesters in Gezi engaged in hope mixed with experimentation, taking setbacks as part of democratic learning. The Gen Z protests with a much stronger sense of urgency. The cumulative economic strain, reduced institutional trust, and continuous political centralization create this atmosphere of urgency. Another area that had a different impact on the two generations is education and globalization. Millennials felt the effect of the expansion of access to higher learning and global connectivity, which led to the development of cosmopolitan civic values. On the other hand, Generation Z is influenced, albeit through connectivity, especially given their digital connectivity. This happens through global democracy and local factors as well.

The difference between the Gezi and March 19 protests, so to speak, ultimately comes down to the extent to which formative environments influence political imagination. The millennials developed as a generation during a time characterized by expansion, at least on a relative level, which meant that they were able to experiment and symbolically assert their presence as a political entity for that space. The Gen Z movement developed within a space characterized by contraction, at least on an economic/political/institutional level, as they were focused on tangible outcomes.