Democratic Innovations In Nepal

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1966.

PART TWO: EXTERNAL ACTORS

Public authorities from all levels of government increasingly turn to Citizens' Assemblies, Juries, Panels and other representative deliberative processes to tackle complex policy problems ranging from climate change to infrastructure investment decisions. They convene groups of people representing a wide cross-section of society for at least one full day – and often much longer – to learn, deliberate, and develop collective recommendations that consider the complexities and compromises required for solving multifaceted public issues.

In 1990 Nepal's Peoples Movement reduced King Birendra from an absolute ruler to a constitutional monarch. This book is the first academic analysis of these events and places the 'revolution' of 1990 within the context of Nepali history. Louise Brown examines the background to Nepal's recent upheavals as well as covering the country's ealy history and its continuing problems of national integration. The previous, unsuccessful, democratic experiment and the nature of monarchical rule are discussed within an analysis of Nepal's social and economic modernisation. The evolution of political parties, Nepal's foreign relations and development issues - and the way in which these have moulded the political system - are explored in depth. Drawing on extensive interviews with leading politicians and influential figures the author provides a comprehensive survey of the Himalayan Kingdom's political development. This is an original contribution to the debate on democratization in the developing world.

This book explores the development of the military as an organization and looks at the patterns of civil–military relations that have emerged in modern Nepal, especially after the rise of King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who founded the unified state of Nepal. It combines astute analyses with up-to-date data to present a comprehensive account of the relations between monarchy, military and civil government and their impact on the democratization process in the country. The author underlines the pressing need for establishing civilian supremacy over the military, through developing and strengthening civilian supervisory mechanisms. The book will be an important resource to researchers, scholars, students of politics, military studies, peace and conflict studies, and history, particularly those concerned with Nepal. It will also interest policy-makers, security experts and military personnel.