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Practicing Politics Dissecting Nepal’s democratic experience, key experts encourage a candid debate By A CORRESPONDENT Nepal has seen many ups and downs on its political path following the restoration of multiparty democracy. The situation on the political front since 1990 has changed dramatically from unrestrained optimism to apathy. Democracy is a system of governance that matures through long experience and practice. At a time when Nepal is in the process of developing a mechanism for the purpose, there is definitely a need for informed debate and discussions in all aspects of democratic governance. Although the decade since the restoration of multiparty democracy has been unable to bring any substantial change, it has set many precedents. In the areas of institutional building, for instance, one can see some positive changes. In the last decade, politicians have spent most of their time in internal bickering and power struggles than in creating a healthy political atmosphere. The articles in this volume provide a clear map for our politicians and the general public on the distance we need to travel. In his article, Ganga Bahadur Thapa discusses the experience of democracy and its experiments in Nepal. "Several factors have enlivened the practice of democracy. Yet, economic discontent, social unrest, unemployment, the role of foreign government institutions and people's aspirations provided the context of democratization throughout the world," Thapa says. Political scientist Ananda Aditya discusses the shifting of votes in a multi-polar electorate, a study of the survival regimes in Nepal and strategies for sustainable governance. Aditya evaluates the behavioral change in voters. In his article, Dev Raj Dahal discusses the role of political education in the democratization of Nepal. Dahal underscores the need to focus on political education. "The focus of political education, in essence, should ignite the interest of citizens, build their inquisitive attitude and creativity in understanding the dimensions of democracy," Dahal says. Dahal, among others things, deals with the process of disseminating information and the role of the media in the private as well as the public sector. He sees media diversity as one of the positive impacts of the practices of last 10 years of democracy. Hari Upreti explains the change of policies in the economic and political life of Nepal. Upreti argues that frequent changes in the economic policies will have significant impacts in all other sectors. "Nepal's economic policies remained intact with all the political upheavals that took place, since the country was unified," Upreti writes. Japanese scholar Yoshitery Iida has contributed an article on Japanese politics after the cold war. Another Japanese scholar has written on the rationale for kingship in Nepal. As the country is passing through what is admittedly a critical phase of democratic transition, the writers make a useful effort to encourage a candid debate on the theoretical and practical aspects of good governance.
Nepali Political Sciences and
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