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BOOK REVIEW |
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BOOK REVIEW |
Democratic Diligence Profound and analytical,
the book discusses the entire phase of party building in Nepal By KESHAB POUDEL "Democratization is primarily a product of political leaders who have the will and skill to bring it about," wrote Harvard Professor Samuel P. Huntington in his article "Democracy for the Long Haul" in the Journal of Democracy (Volume 7, Number 2 April 1996). "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 the prevalence of what can be termed western culture and values." If we take Huntington's premise as the reference point, we can see that democratization is a complex process in which various institutions, cultural values and leaders have important roles to play. Although many books explaining the political process of Nepal have been published in the years following the restoration of democracy, Krishna Hachhethu's work has distinguished itself by discussing the party building process through the organization and people. Ever since the restoration of democracy in 1990, the two major parties — the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML — have continued to play the dominant role. In the long history of party building process, Hachhethu focuses his attention on the emergence of the two parties. "Ten years have passed since political parties started operating as the dominant actors of Nepali politics. There are two dominating parties representing two different ideologies: the NC is a liberal democratic party but with a socialist trademark, and the CPN-UML is a communist party but with allegiance to multiparty democracy. The book tries to give a new perspective and it represents a new genre of studying Nepali politics," says Hachhethu in his preface. In a country like Nepal, where preconditions for democratization do not exist and skillful political leaders are yet to emerge, the democratization process is always painful and difficult. In the absence of these preconditions, the party building process has also suffered. In his quest to find internal differences and contradictions on the ideological front, Hachhethu describes the organizational structure in terms of the quality of leadership and conflict management mechanism. Mired in chronic internal dissension, the two major parties have spent most of their time putting their own house in order. Hachhethu follows the history of party building and context of their formation. His analysis of historical facts helps to explain the regular eruption of dissension. Like all other institutions, political parties have to pass through a certain evolutionary process. The United Kingdom and the United States have undergone political experiments over the centuries. Even in India, the evolutionary process of parties is more than a century old. Nepalese political parties have not had to undergo these various steps. In principle, parties exist to control the government, and the path to this goal lies through the legislature, for it is the party that secures a majority of the seats in the elected branch of the legislature that has the right to have its leaders from the government. This shows that the political parties are formed to lead a government through public mandate. The primary task of the party is generally seen to be that of maintaining the government through parliament. In the last 12 years, the Nepali Congress has suffered a lot due to differences over the respective authority of the party and the government. Hachhethu has succeeded in painting a vivid picture of this conflict through his intense research and analysis. The life of the parliament is lived in terms of the party system, which, in normal circumstances, assures the government the majority necessary to ensure its continuance in office. The organization of the house for action is a party function; MPs are elected as members of a party; committee assignments are made along party lines as nearly as possible in proportion to party strength in the parliament. "The NC and the CPN-UML's potential to rejuvenate themselves as the true representative of the people, is, however always there," Hachhethu concludes. Going back to Huntington, the way to build a party and leaders in a country hostile to the new democratic
values is a most difficult task. Hachhethu's book provides a valuable local perspective of this painful process. Party Building in Nepal:
Organization, Leadership and People |
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