Nepal’s Federal Conundrum: Negotiating a Strong Federal System on Weak Democratic Foundations seeks to examine how the federalization process has been unfolding since the promulgation of the new constitution in 2015. Historically contextualized around democratic institutions and spaces, the articles in this edited volume focus on frameworks that have contoured institutions and processes. They also discuss the intricacies of the everyday practices with which federalized governance is being realized.
The deep analyses make clear that the post-2015 period has been one of active negotiations of authority between old and new state institutions as well as citizens and groups. The writings also reveal the manner in which new political institutions, spaces and actors at the different levels are contoured by memories and practices of previous government institutions and relations, as well as by patronage relations, conflict, communal relations, impunity and structured inequalities.
|
Contents
Reprinting Rights Acknowledgments vii
Preface ix
Introduction
Interrogating the Democratic Foundations for Federalism 1
Seira Tamang
Framing a Difficult Future
Contradiction between the Principle of Proportional Representation and Election Results: An Analysis of the Representation of Dalit and Marginalized Communities in Nepal’s 2022 Elections 43
JB Biswokarma
Beyond “Capacity”: Gendered Election Processes, Networks and Informality in Local Governments in Nepal 71
Seira Tamang, Sumina Rai Karki, Amol Acharya and Srijana Nepal
The 2017 Local Elections in Nepal: An Unusual Framework with Expected Consequences 109
Kåre Vollan
2017 Local Elections in Madhesh: Discussions from the Margins 137
Sujeet Karn, Sangita Thebe Limbu and Kalpana Jha
Negotiating Federal Governance
Mapping Local Federalism in Nepal: An Exercise in Constitutional Cartography 173
Amy Leigh Johnson
“They’ve Given Us the Chair, But Bound Our Hands and Feet”: Embedding Elected Female Representatives in Institutions in Nepal 227
Seira Tamang
The Material Politics of Citizenship: Struggles over Resources, Authority and Belonging in the New Federal Republic of Nepal 279
Andrea J. Nightingale, Lutgart Lenaerts, Ankita Shrestha, Pema Norbu Lama ‘Tsumpa’ and Hemant R. Ojha
Local Governments and School Education in Federal Nepal 309
Lokranjan Parajuli, Devendra Uprety and Rukh Gurung
Notes on Contributors