By: Ujwal Thapa

Ujwal Thapa — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:28:00 +0000

good summary Mahesh. Thats why the need for folks like you and I to be more politically influential than what we have been in the past.

By: Mahesh

Mahesh — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 04:08:00 +0000

Nice summary of the book. Another takeaway from the book would be the role of strong vs weak state. Though strong states may lead to formation of inclusive (as in the US) or extractive (as in former USSR), weak states never lead to inclusive institutions.
The revolution of 1990 lead to political transformation in Nepal where the political power was now in hands of more than one party. Though this transformation seems inclusive, the power of the state got significantly weaker. The central state couldn’t successfully implement development policies in the far-west and as a result the Maoist movement started. It was no coincidence that the movement started in Rolpa where the state never had a strong control. The movement got successful, not because of the agendas they put forth but because of the support of frustrated mass of people that did get anything from the state.
One good thing that Maoist movement got successful was in uprising the people. Ethnic groups, women, and local groups become more aware and wanted greater participation in the political process. So, after yet another revolution of 2006, the political process seems to have been much more inclusive. The political power now has been distributed not just in the hands of the newly formed (and old) political parties, but also in the hands of other political groups which want greater share in the political process. This all seems inclusive but the hope of this leading Nepal to somewhere prosperous seems dimmer than ever.
And this is precisely because of the another big change that Maoist movement did. It destroyed the strength of the already weak state. In their road to success, they destroyed state infrastructures that could show the strength of the state and execute policies and maintain law and order. And the current instability of government has almost killed whatever strength the state had left. Now, the state has become so weak that it cannot implement anything. Even simple processes like bringing the budget in time has been a story of the past, let alone the effectiveness of the policies. No matter which parties or coalition is in the government, they are stuck with the state that cannot do anything effectively.
So, through the seemingly inclusive political changes, we are moving towards chaos. There is no single political force in light that can strengthen the state. And all the political actors know it. So, what do they do? Grab everything they can, while they can, and as long as they can. The institutions in Nepal has been set up to feed the elite few. This makes it all the more easier for the political actors to draw resources towards themselves. So the inclusive looking political transformation is just creating more and more of these elites willing to extract anything remaining from the rapidly failing state.

Comments on: Why Nepal fails ? (repeatedly)

By: Ujwal Thapa

By: Mahesh