Participation and Deliberation at the Local Level in the Federal Context of Nepal

- Vishnu Kumari Tandon

Discussion Type: Research Seminar Series | Date: 02 Feb 2025 | Time: 03:00 PM

Details

2 February 2025/२० माघ २०८१ (आइतबार, दिउँसो ३ बजे)
Research Seminar Series
Participation and Deliberation at the Local Level in the Federal Context of Nepal

Vishnu Kumari Tandon, PhD
Governance and Citizen Engagement Consultant, World Bank, Washington DC and Program Manager, International Commission for Dalit Rights (ICDR)

Abstract:
This research investigates the participatory nature of local planning in the federal context of Nepal, through a case study of two municipalities: Buddhabhumi and Dhanushadham. The 2015 Constitution of Nepal grants significant autonomy to subnational governments. To ensure such autonomy, the Local Government Operation Act (LGOA), adopted in 2017, gives citizens the right to participate in the local planning process, which is organized by locally elected representatives. This research focuses on various deliberative forums involved in the planning process, including the open citizens’ forums (the tole bhela), and the closed forums where only elected representatives deliberate. It identifies the factors that encourage or discourage discussions in these forums, and examines to what extent discussions translate into decisions.

The findings of this qualitative research are based on field visits conducted between 2019 and 2023. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, observation of citizen deliberation forums and a municipal assembly, and analyses of budget documents.

Building on the concept proposed by Baiocchi and Ganuza (2017), the thesis argues that citizens participate when they feel “as if ” they have the power to decide for themselves. It tries to understand precisely when, how, and why citizens feel as if they have popular sovereignty, and it reveals that the “as if” factor is prominent when a citizen’s self-interest is at stake. This research thus invites us to look at the notions of self-interest and common good from the unique angle offered by the unequal societies of Buddhabhumi and Dhanushadham. Besides, it shows that the autonomy brought by federalism can enhance participation only if elites’ self-interest is not disguised as the common good.

Keywords: Nepal, federalism, participation, deliberation, tole bhela, autonomy, local-level planning process.

About the Speaker: 
Vishnu Kumari Tandon has earned her PhD from  L'École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS), Paris. Her research revolves around federalism and participatory democracy in Nepal. She served as a teaching fellow at the Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) and Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO) from 2019 to 2023. 

Currently Tandon works as a Governance and Citizen Engagement consultant at the World Bank in Washington DC, and as a Program Manager at the International Commission for Dalit Rights (ICDR), a DC-based NGO dedicated to uplifting Dalit communities in South Asia. She has over 10 years of professional experience, gained through various roles in national and international organizations across Nepal, the Netherlands, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, and the United States.

- Vishnu Kumari Tandon

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