COVER STORY (Spotlight Weekly)

POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
Conflict Of Cultural Values

The past decade of Nepal’s rough journey to democracy has seen every kind alliance and action — opportunistic, unholy and unnatural — as a short cut to power. It seems that means and manner do not matter to our political actors. Agitations, street demonstrations, violations of the rule of law appear to be well-accepted features of politics. After more than five decades of democratic experiments, Nepalese politicians are yet to cultivate the core of the culture and character of democracy: tolerance, patience and respect for the rules of the game. Amid its geo-political vulnerability, the politicians’ lack of commitment to the political process has frequently disturbed the country’s democratic transition. In its search for a liberal democratic system, the country has travelled through family rule to a multiparty polity to a partyless system and back to multiparty governance. But the people have seen nothing new in leadership’s underlying character.

By KESHAB POUDEL

In an effort to force Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to resign, the main opposition CPN-UML and five other opposition parties stall parliament for more than 45 days.

Former prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, a founding leader of the ruling Nepali Congress, demands the resignation of his party colleague during an all-party meeting convened at his residence.

If democratic values were still alive in Nepalese politics, the use force and intimidation to oust a prime minister chosen through elections — if they were used at all — would have been held in abeyance until he was proved guilty of something. For communist opposition parties, who are schooled in authoritarian methods of governing, stalling the house, paralyzing the streets and creating a national sense of anarchy could be seen as a natural extension of their beliefs.

However, when a politician like Bhattarai, who has sacrificed his entire life to uphold democracy, chooses to deviate from democratic ideals in asking for the resignation of the prime minister, it reflects the depths to which Nepalese politics and politicians have degenerated.

Nobody knows what Koirala might have done to Bhattarai if their roles were reversed. What is clear, however, is that all Nepalese politicians — be they Benaras-educated Bhattarai, Thakur Ram Campus graduate main opposition party leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, Allahabad-educated RPP leader Surya Bahadur Thapa or Oxford graduate RPP leader Pashupati Sumsher Jung Bahadur Rana — have shown their adeptness in espousing the same political culture.

Political leaders : Shifting alliances

The culture of Jung Bahadur and the values of the Rana regime are still active in the bloodstream of Nepalese politicians. The only difference is that while Jung Bahadur physically liquidated his rivals while today’s politicians are trying to inflict the same damage through a sustained process of character assassination.

Although all leaders claim that their current behavior and character is democratic, the common people seem to be frustrated at the emerging undemocratic tendencies at the political level. The people are gradually losing faith in the political leaders who they revered and supported to the hilt during the people’s movement that brought about the political change of 1990.

"Threats to third-wave democracies are likely to come not from generals and revolutionaries who have nothing but contempt for democracy, but rather from participants in the democratic process," wrote Samuel P. Huntington, renowned political scientist, in his article "Democracy for the Long Haul", published in the Journal of Democracy (Volume 7, Number 2 April 1996).

"These are political leaders and groups who win the elections, take power, and then manipulate the mechanisms of democracy to curtail or destroy democracy. With third-wave democracies, the problem is not overthrow but erosion: the intermittent or gradual weakening of democracy by those elected to lead it."

RPP and Congress leaders : Marriage of convenience

If one evaluates the decade-long political development in Nepal, one can understand how political leaders themselves are posing a serious threat to the democratic process. Whether in the name of street agitation or unholy alliances with rivals, political leaders are making every effort to destabilize a political system that puts high premium on the adherence to core values and ideals.

The history, culture and religion of a particular society, experts argue, determine the behavior of political leaders and parties. Democratic culture and values need tolerance, patience and respect for the rules of the game. It is impossible to achieve democratic objectives by undermining its basic values. If the mob is allowed to rule, democracy gives way to mobocracy. If the street mob is allowed to play the determining role in changing the government, no succeeding government would be able to gain stability. One cannot justify the use of mob politics to change the political order.

Whether or not Huntington’s predictions have come true in other countries, they have turned into living reality in the Nepalese context, where democracy is not functioning properly because of the actions of the participants and practitioners of the political process themselves. Be it the ruling Nepali Congress or the main opposition CPN-UML, Rastriya Prajatatra Party (RPP), Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) or the CPN-ML, all have proved that they come from same caste and creed when it comes to the question of playing petty politics.

Each party and leader remains willing to adhere to rules and regulations as long as its suits their interests. Once the party or leader feels that the rule of law cannot fulfil their aspirations, they immediately adopt such undemocratic means as general strikes and street protests.

Leaders of smaller political parties have been leading an undemocratic political process by organizing periodic agitations that disrupting normal life. When the main opposition party, the CPN-UML, joins hands with four other opposition groups in stalling parliamentary proceedings, a sense of bewilderment is bound to set in the public mind. In a situation where the main political players of the day themselves do not believe in the political process, how can they be expected to strengthen it?

RPP and UML leaders : New found friendship

"Democratic development occurs when political leaders believe they have interest in promoting it or a duty to achieve it. Such elite are missing from many parts of the world," wrote Huntington in another article, "After Twenty Years: The Future of the Third Wave", Journal of Democracy (Vol. 8, Number 4, October 1997).

"Democratization as primarily the product of political leaders who have the will and the skill to bring it about. Clearly, however, both preconditions and crafting have roles to play, and certain preconditions can facilitate democratic crafting. These include a relatively high level of economic development and prevalence of what can be termed Western culture, and values, including Western Christianity."

In countries like Nepal, the conditions favoring democratization are either non-existent or very weak. Institutions are yet to develop and political leaders ignore the practices and values they are sworn to upholding. "Personal behaviour is very important in determining any political process. Tradition and culture always determines the personal behaviour," said Dr. Purushotam Pandey.

Democratization is not impossible in such countries, political scientists say, but it is likely to be more difficult. In addition, many non-Western societies are going through a pervasive process of cultural indigenization. They increasingly resist Western industrialized values and institutions and are searching for an identity and meaning in their own cultural traditions.

Chand (left) and Nepal : Close alley

The Constitution of Kingdom of Nepal 1990 visualizes all kinds of modern institutions such as the executive, judiciary, legislature and political parties that are required to run a democracy. However, the behavior and values of the actors assigned to run these institutions have hardly demonstrated the requisite minimum character.

Economic development can alter a country’s culture and make it more supportive of democracy. If it occurs, economic development will presumably have impacts on a society like Nepal. Even after achieving economic development, however, one cannot guarantee a successful transition to full-fledged democracy.

The difficulties Nepal faces on its journey to democracy include problems related to political culture, a legacy of the undemocratic systems of the past. Following the restoration of democracy, state constraints on individual behavior were removed. Accompanying this was a loosening of the state’s inhibitions and uncertainty about the standards of morality. Amid the weakening of state authority, the parties are encouraging an "anything goes" atmosphere.

"We overthrew the Panchayat system by our own strength and this time, too, we will take similar action," thundered K.P. Sharma Oli, leader of CPN-UML at a recent political meeting. "Agitation always bring change and betterment of life."

Bhattarai and Nepal : Every alliance is possible

Although the political parties are calling for mass demonstrations, the response of the people is so poor that only school children are coming out on the streets. "The opposition parties are selling their remaining goodwill. After this agitation, they will not have anything left to sell," said a political analyst.

People from virtually all walks of life took part in the political agitations of 1990, hoping that the new system would help bring much-needed prosperity to the country. What the people wanted then was a democratic order that would ensure good governance. They believed such a system would encourage economic well being, political stability, social order, communal harmony and an efficient and honest administration. All these hopes have been shattered. The people, who had a choice in 1990, don’t see a better alternative today.

Merely conducting regular elections does not necessarily lead to a democratic government. The expression of the popular will has to be supported by restrictions on absolute power of the executive, by an independent judiciary to uphold the rule of law, by protection of individual rights and liberties of expression, of association, of belief and of parties, by effective guarantees against arbitrary arrest and police brutality, by the absence of censorship and minimal government control of the media.

The new constitution has guaranteed everything in writing. When the constitution starts functioning in the absence of minimum requisite culture, the character and behavior of the actors resembles those of autocrats. Modern democracy is a product of western civilization. Its roots lie in social pluralism, class system, civil society, belief, commitment and practice of the rule of law, and experiences with representative bodies.

Economic development has a strong positive effect on democratization, Seymour Martin Lisped pointed out decades ago. The evidence has shown that the economic development has a strong positive effect on democratization. Economic growth involves higher levels of urbanization, literacy and education. It also involves a shift in occupational structure, with a decline in the size and importance of the peasantry and the development of a middle class and urban working class.

The latter groups increasingly have a voice in and influence the policies that affect them. With a higher level of educated citizenry, political compromise and tolerance increase. The easing of state control of the economy leads to the creation and growth of independent centers of power, based on the privately controlled capital, technology, and communication. This will change the status of the old feudal order that controlled the country’s economy.

Within the multiparty system, Nepal has experienced majority, minority and several coalition governments, but without any discernible democratic culture over the last decade. "Though there is democracy in Nepal now. It seems that the connection between the vested-interest groups and political and economic elite are so strong and the policy of government does not seem to be effective to change the situation," said Prof. Dr. Ananta Raj Poudyal, in his article "Governance in Nepal" in "Essays on Constitutional Law", published by Nepal Law Society. "Moreover, the vital form of them are the concomitant democratic culture of the political parties and leadership. Introduction of democracy is a complex process which involves more than a political transformation."

The transition to democracy concerns the whole body politic — that is, all the individuals that constitute it and their social relationships. Changes in human attitudes are less easily accomplished than remolding the political system.

"No doubt, the CPN-UML is the largest opposition party in parliament, but its ambivalent role, sometimes in parliament and sometime in the street, has created confusion. The role of the CPN-UML has always remained suspicious. At the same time, its critical support to the parliamentary democracy has crated suspicion whether the CPN-UML is adopting a strategy to disrupt the parliamentary system from within," Poudyal said.

Democracy is more than the sum of institutions. A healthy democracy depends in large part on the development of a democratic civic culture. According to political scientists, culture means the behaviors, practices and norms that define the ability of a people to govern themselves.

Education plays a singular important role in free societies. In a democratic system, the regime is the servant of the people — people whose capacity to create, sustain and improve that regime depends in large measure on the quality and effectiveness of the educational arrangements through which they pass. Nepal is yet to develop a level of education that a multiparty political system presupposes.

"Social structures are feudal, dominated by a system of patronage and traditional values which permit a special role for influential persons and which make open public dialogue difficult. On the whole, however, Nepal is an agrarian society, with limited accessibility in terms of transportation and communication, and with a very low standard of education," states a report on consolidating Democracy in Nepal, prepared by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.

We are undermining the authority of state by hurling abuses at the prime minister. Political parties and leaders seem to have lost the patience to go to their destiny. We are influenced by western model of political process, particularly the British model of parliamentary government. But the nature of its implementation shows that it is running through Nepalese political culture.

Opportunistic Alliance

Nepalese politicians have not shown the political culture needed to run a western democratic system. In the last decade of democratization, Nepalese have seen different types of opportunistic alliances between various political forces. Various alliances — RPP-NC-NSP, RPP-UML, RPP-NC-NSP, NC-ML and NC-UML-NSP — have formed governments. This shows that the political system in Nepal is influenced by the West but is its infrastructures are indigenous.

Opportunism is not a new phenomenon in Nepalese politics. After the Royal takeover in 1961, the Panchayat system was run by opportunist politicians like Tulsi Giri and Bishwabandhu Thapa, who deserted B.P. Koirala to join the Panchayat. Communist leaders, too, had shown similar a character. Now the CPN-UML, RPP and the Bhattarai faction of the governing Nepali Congress have entered a new political alliance, but no one knows what common ground they find themselves on.

This shows that every nation has its own heritage, which influences the country’s political character. The same political model brings different results in different social contexts. Because of cultural factors, Nepal’s democratic process has always suffered. Whether it was Panchayat or multiparty polity, both systems have had similar phases and results. Whether authoritarian or democratic, the characters of Nepalese politics have grown up in the same traditions and have been influenced by the same elements.

Human as well as material factors play an important role in bringing democratic results. Level of education, nature of institutions, quality of disciplines and the independence of the media are vital to running democracy smoothly.

The ability of democracy to function depends on the nation’s collective state of mind. In the present circumstances, whatever the system introduced, the result might not be very different. The results of the Panchayat and democratic systems are not so strikingly different. It is not only the political system but also the supporting factors and character of actors that need to be taken into account before evaluating the results.

When society passes through phases of opportunism, how can one find actors with unique characters? "We can change the base of technology but we cannot change the base of culture and knowledge. One has to pass several round of social transformation before achieving perfection," said Dr. Rishikeshab Raj Regmi.

What Nepal has With a high level of illiteracy, rampant poverty, difficult geographical terrain, absence of local communication system, and the majority of people living in isolated villages within small communities, Nepal’s transition to democracy is not easy. Nepal’s situation stands in marked contrast to industrialized democracies, which consist of fully urbanized societies, almost universal literacy, no poverty and strong institutions.

Countries like Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore, too, have seen varying phases of authoritarian and liberal government. However, they did not have to contend the kind of problems Nepal grappling with because of developed infrastructure and improved literacy rates.

In such circumstances, how long can Nepal wait to emerge out of this sordid state? Nobody can provide a precise answer. Nepal’s situation is so fluid that it might plummet even below Afghanistan or it might improve its situation amazingly.

What is also important to note is that Nepal has distinct advantages. There are few countries like Nepal which have not gone to direct war with another country in more than a century. There is no internal breakdown of law and order, no civil war situation, no famine and major natural calamities. Analyzing all the factors related to the political process, it is strange that Nepal has been losing its stability and peace. Governance has become a dreadful task.

As there is no convincing reason internally for this to have happened, one has to see the role of external factors while going to the roots of political instability. After all, it is not easy for a country like Nepal, which lies between the big powers of Asia that are also the world’s two most populous countries, to remain free from external influence.

Culture always plays determining role in shaping the behavior of individual actors. As individual behavior determines the functioning of the political process, the mere introduction of a new system cannot bring the desired results.

A liberal political system functions successfully where individual behavior is based on western values. Democracy is the best mode of organized politics, but only if the actors are faithful to its ends.

"Democracy in Nepal has been a painful process because of the contradiction between alien democratic values and native culture of despotism, while the people at large are yet to experience a transition from raiti (serf) and praja (subject) to nagrik (citizen). Contest among elite factions is for self-aggrandizement instead of ideology. Even if one were to allude to mainstream party ideologies, those to the left of the center are tending to the right while accumulated problems call for radical measures. Formalistic change in polity does not necessarily mean change in societal values that shape political culture," said Dr. Harka Gurung, a prominent intellectual and former minister. The democratic exercise in Nepal is beset with the incongruity of the new political system. Formalistic change in polity does not necessarily mean a change in societal values that shape political

culture."

Economic crisis represents one of the most common threats to democratic stability. Conversely, economic growth is conducive to the survival of democracy. Indeed, the faster the economy grows, the more likely democracy is to survive.

Democratic development occurs when political leaders believe they have an interest in promoting it or a duty to achieve it, as Prof. Huntington says. Such elite are missing from Nepal. When politicians themselves are stalling parliamentary proceedings for such a long time, are they not extending an open invitation to anarchy?

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, and it was the age of foolishness…. It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, and we were all going direct to heaven and we were all going direct the other way…"

These few first lines written by Charles Dickens in "A Tale of Two Cities" in 1861 mirrors the present situation of Nepalese society. Because of the unpredictable behavior of political leaders, nobody knows where the democratic and liberal political process followed by Nepal will lead the people. Following the restoration of a liberal democratic system in 1990, Nepalese people are indeed confronted with the best of the times and worst of the times.