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BOOK REVIEW |
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BOOK REVIEW |
On Conflict Management Conflict management
seems to be a popular issue to write about By A CORRESPONDENT The issue of conflict has many dimensions and it is related to various parts of society. In any country, conflicts surface not only through internal causes but also due to involvement of external elements. Interestingly, only a few books have been published debating the role of internal and external elements in Nepal's ongoing conflict. Since most of the studies are either biased or based on surface, one cannot come up with real diagnosis of the problem. With the intensification of the Maoist insurgency, books related to conflict management have flooded the market. Dozens of books have already been published highlighting the consequences or reasons of present conflict in the country. Following the restoration of democracy in 1990, it was the era of democratization, institution building, parliamentary exercise, rule of law, human rights, electoral process and Bhutanese refugees issues. From 1996 onwards, the whole theme of seminar and book writing turned towards the governance, corruption, inefficiency, economic mismanagement and others. Apart from books on insurgency, the causes of Dalits and Janjatis are other popular themes in contemporary society. Democracy, institution building and democratic process seem to have become a lost agenda now. Although NEFAS has already published a number of books ranging from regional issues to democratization, economic liberalization, environment and conflict, it still maintains the quality of materials. Its latest book on conflict management is divided into two parts. The first part includes the articles related to conflict resolution and second part is related to governance in Nepal. Published by NEFAS and FES, the book consists of various articles written by different scholars. Dev Raj Dahal in his article Conflict Resolution: A Note On Some Contending Approaches discusses theoretical points of views citing the experiences of Nepal. Dahal's article is highly academic based on a number of theories on conflict. "There is no single best way of resolving conflict," writes Dahal. Dr. Meena Acharya in her paper Towards Conflict Transformation in Nepal: Recent Trends in Government Maoist Dialogue writes about the negotiation skills in resolving the conflict. Krishna B. Bhattachan in his paper Sociological Perspective on Internal Conflict Resolution/Management in Nepal analyzes the role of different ethnic groups and social system in the conflicts. Yubaraj Sangroula in his paper Dynamics of Continuing Conflict in Nepal: A Geo-political Perspective discusses other dynamics of conflict. On the theme Governance in Nepal, Dr. Raghab D. Panta's paper on Politics of Hard Choices: In Quest of Economic Policies and Programs is very thought-provoking. Hiramani Ghimire in his paper discusses the Public Policy Making in Nepal. Likewise Bihari Krishna Shrestha talks on Conflict Resolution Through Governance Effectiveness in Nepal. Although based on seminar proceedings, the book does cover many aspects of less-debated parts of the conflict. One of the interesting parts of the book is that it includes all debate and discussions. From Dalits to Janjatis, the book tries to see the conflict issue from various dimensions. "The reason for publishing the proceedings of both seminars in a single volume is to provide an insight into the years of multi-party rule in Nepal following the mass movement for the restoration of democracy," writes Editor Ananda P. Shrestha in his preface and acknowledgement. Although the seminar was organized a year ago, the issues raised by the book are still valid. The theoretical aspects presented in the book regarding the good governance and conflict resolution are timely and interesting. Conflict Resolution
And Governance In Nepal |
Send your feedback to the
editor: spot@mail.com.np |
