Vote for change and effect of intimidation-fear: The Maoist electoral victory in the Constituent Assembly election

This paper argues that people’s aspirations for change, effect of Maoist intimidation and threats, and disconnect of the other political parties with the people contributed to Maoist win. The paper will also discuss other trends the election produced such as the emergence of identity parties, weakening of ‘democratic parties’ and growth of communist parties, domination of communist parties in the Constituent Assembly, and reward to movement parties and other outcomes. The analysis employs an innovative approach of comparing outlier results of the Constituent Assembly election with previous parliamentary election results and a case study of pre and post election violence in a district to establish the effect of intimidation, and it compares performance of established older parties in districts that were considered as strongholds but lost to Maoist and also compares performance of Maoists in urban areas where the election was relatively free and fair to verify the change hypothesis

Informal Institutions and Exclusion in Democratic Nepal

Informal institutions, or conventions or codes of behaviour, play significant role in constraining human behaviour that have important political consequences. Despite a lot of focus on institutionalism, informal institutions\u27 role in political behaviours and outcomes has not been scrutinized thoroughly in political science. This paper investigates the contribution of informal institutions to the political exclusion of marginalized groups like Dalit, indigenous nationalities, Madhesi, and women in democratic Nepal (1990-2002). Scholars have pointed out the role of formal institutions like the unitary state, first past the post electoral method in the exclusion in Nepal. However, formal institutions do not account for all the exclusion. Not a single Dalit was nominated to the cabinet during 1990-2002. This was not due to formal restriction but because of informal norms like caste system that guide political and social actors’ behaviours. In this paper I will discuss various ways informal institutions interacted with formal institutions during the democratic years to produce exclusion. Specifically, I will analyze the role of patriarchy on the exclusion of women, hill nationalism and the exclusion of Madhesi, and caste system and Bahunbad and the exclusion of indigenous nationalities and Dalit. Analyses of informal institution are important because even if formal institutions are changed, exclusion may still continue because informal institutions persist for long periods

Spheres of exclusion in democratizing Nepal

The paper will discuss various forms of political exclusion of socio-cultural groups in Nepal during the democratic period, 1990-2002. The groups considered are: dalit, indigenous nationalities, madhesi, Muslims, and women. The paper will discuss seven forms of exclusion: (1) exclusion from access to citizenship, (2) exclusion from governance, (3) exclusion from public policies, (4) cultural discrimination, (5) symbolic exclusion, (6) exclusion from civil society, and (7) socioeconomic inequality

Democracy, exclusion and informal institutions in Nepal

Informal institutions or conventions or codes of behaviour play significant role in constraining human behaviour that have important political consequences. Despite a lot of focus on institutionalism, informal institutions\u27 role in political behaviours and outcomes has not been scrutinized thoroughly in political science. This paper investigates the contribution of informal institutions to the political exclusion of marginalized groups such as Dalit, indigenous nationalities, Madhesi, minority religious groups, and women in democratic Nepal (1990-2002)

Looking back, looking forward : centralization, multiple conflicts, and democratic state building in Nepal

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/This study examines the causes of the multiple conflicts and crises in Nepal during the 1990-2002 democratic period and develops guidelines to avoid them in the future. In that democratic period, Nepal was extremely centralized, with power concentrated in the cabinet and accessed primarily by the caste hill Hindu elite males. Overcentralization of the polity resulted in the exclusion of national, ethnic, and caste groups, as well as women, and promoted a culture of impunity. It also contributed to the growth of the Maoist insurgency and facilitated government instability, corruption, and related crises. The democratic period, however, also witnessed successful sectors. The media flourished; communities reforested the hills; economic liberalization made available more goods and services; decentralization, though limited, took power closer to the people; and social justice movements raised issues of marginalized groups. The successful sectors could perform because the central state withdrew and allowed them space to operate. However, weak accountability limited their success. Devolution or concentration of power in the hands of the central government were the respective common factors underscoring the success or failure of programs. Based on these findings, and supplemented by global experience, the monograph argues that accountability and inclusion based on identity and class should be significant criteria in restructuring the state. The state needs to devolve power to different levels, branches, and agencies of government, to different national, ethnic, caste groups, and women, and reallocate power among the state, society, and market. Accountability mechanisms must be built into all organizations that wield power. A restructured state would become effective and have a greater chance of consolidating democracy