Contributed articles.

The relationship between ethnic politics and democracy presents a paradox for scholars and policy makers: ethnic politics frequently emerge in new democracies, and yet are often presumed to threaten these new democracies. As ethnic politics is becoming increasingly central to Nepali politics, this book argues it has the potential to strengthen rather than destabilize democracy. Drawing on years of ethnographic fieldwork, Susan Hangen focuses on the ethnic political party Mongol National Organization (MNO), which consists of multiple ethnic groups and has been mobilizing support in rural east Nepal. By investigating the party’s discourse and its struggles to gain support and operate within a village government, the book provides a window onto the processes of democratization in rural Nepal in the 1990s. This work presents a more nuanced understanding of how ethnic parties operate on the ground, arguing that ethnic parties overlap considerably with social movements, and that the boundary between parties and movements should be reconceptualised. The analysis demonstrates that ethnic parties are not antithetical to democracy and that democratization can proceed in diverse and unexpected ways. Providing an in-depth discussion of the indigenous nationalities movement, one of Nepal’s most significant social movements, this work will be of great interest to scholars and students of Asian Politics, South Asian Studies, and Political Anthropology.

Discourse on Nepalese governance.

Nepal has reached a critical phase. The new constitution is in the making, and with its promulgation, the country would enter into a new phase of democracy along with a number of structural changes. During the last two decades, many significant issues have emerged on the scene of Nepali society and polity. The process of political transition has unfolded many dimensions of considerable importance. The questions of stabilization of democracy, federalism, ethnicity, regionalism, social inclusion, gender, etc., are becoming the core issues. The demography, migration and health issues are gaining currency demanding immediate attention. The media has started acquiring a relevant role in this context. The civil society too finds itself assuming new shape and role accordingly. The present volume is thus successful in taking account of a lot of issues that happened in Nepal, especially after the advent of democracy in the 1950s. The book has tried to link the past with the present; it tries to analyse the present with the lens of historical realities. The permanent nature of transition in Nepal has been attributed to power-greedy rulers of the past who always tried to play India or China card to remain in power. Similarly, marginalization of ethnic communities, Dalits, women, etc. by the King, political parties like the Nepal Congress and the CPN (UML) has been described as the prime reason behind the rise and growth of Maoist movement in Nepal.

An attempt to expose the links between democracy and decentralization.