Professional Affiliation

Professor of Political Science, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal, and President of the Nepali Political Science Association

Expert Bio

Given the frequent setbacks of the past few years in the global push toward democratization, the issue of how best to consolidate democratic ideals with development aims has become a topic of concern to scholars the world over. What measures and policies are needed to consolidate nascent democracies, and how difficult will it be to achieve this task? Nepal has had all the trappings of a democracy since 1990, but it cannot readily be described as democratic in terms of its political culture. Democracy is more than electing officials. Nepal successfully created democratic institutions while failing to meet the necessary pre-conditions: a strong economy, a middle class, a competitive party system, and a sturdy civic culture. Thus, while the country resembles most parliamentary democracies in structure, it diverges from older models insofar as participation is limited to just a few individuals. Nepali democracy still has a long ways to go before reaching maturity. The stability of democracy is based on many elements: socially embedded political parties, pressure groups, civil society, parliament, and an executive judiciary, to name a few. A healthy democracy needs strong political parties, independent forums, organizations and associations such as trade unions, media consumers' organizations, NGOs, farmer organizations, voluntary bodies, social and cultural organizations, and a vibrant civil society to ensure that governance is conducted for the people. In Nepal, politicians have never been held in high esteem because of their excessive indulgence in vested interests -- serving their families and clients rather than ordinary citizens. Meanwhile, Nepali bureaucrats regard themselves as rulers in their respective jurisdictions rather than as public servants. Even more disturbing, long-established political clans continue to dominate Nepali politics. Democracy is not the "only game in town," these clan leaders appear to be saying; and they do not hesitate to contest the rules of the game. So has democracy failed totally in Nepal? Certainly not. Its chances of survival are brighter than ever, but only if the country can overcome the enormous challenge of weeding out political corruption and nepotism. Personally, I look to international pressure in hopes of ensuring democracy's survival in my country. This is part of my incentive for presenting Nepal to Western scholars as a fresh case study: how has it performed as a ten-year-old democratic experiment, and what lessons does it teach about promises and pitfalls?

 

Expertise

Democracy in the Developing World, Democratic Consolidation, Democratic Transition -- especially in Nepal

Wilson Center Project

"Nepal: Democracy in Transition"

Project Summary

The general issues of democratic transition have been widely discussed, but no study exists on the Nepalese example. In proposing to write the first such study, I seek to enrich not only the teaching and research of Nepali politics in Nepal but also the academic discourse on issues of democratic transition, which has thus far been dominated by Western scholars. The results of my study should be useful to policy makers, social scientists, and international agencies engaged in assisting the democratic movement in the developing world.

Major Publications

• Decentralization and Good Governance in Nepal (POLSAN, Friedrich Ebert Shiftung, 1999)
  
   
• Promoting Participatory Democracy in Nepal (POLSAN, Danish International Development Agency, 1998), pp. 1-17.
  
   
• "Democracy: The Nepalese Experience," Nepali Political Science and Politics, Vol. 5 (1996), pp.1-27.