A study in 2007 under the lead authorship of Prof. Krishna Hachhethu. The study, published by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) in January 2008, was titled Nepal in Transition: A Study on the State of Democracy.
In 2004, International IDEA and the State of Democracy in South Asia/Nepal Chapter conducted a survey on the state of democracy in Nepal. In 2007, a follow-up survey was conducted by the same organisations to gauge Nepali people’s changing perceptions about their national politics and democracy. The 2007 survey findings showed striking differences in the opinions of people in this three-year period.
In the Foreword to the published study, Prof. Lok Raj Baral notes that
“Nepal in Transition has tried to explore many important issues related to transitional politics: the issues of monarchy, inclusive democracy, and the transformation of the Maoists from an insurgent group to a mainstream party that engages in competitive politics. The survey also has studied the new phenomenon of the rise in ethnic among Nepalis, a phenomenon that demands vigilance and deft social engineering from the major political actors in the transition process, and the dynamics of ethnic and national identity. The discriminatory character that the Nepali state has had, ever since the state was formed, encouraged the politics of exclusion, and the only privileged caste and class groups have enjoyed power and access to resources. Jana Andolan II has given us an opportunity to rectify this and many other outmoded characteristics of the Nepali state, and the survey catalogues the people’s expectations for positive changes.”
------ Lok Raj Baral
Foreword, Nepal in Transition: A Study on the State of Democracy |
