The Maoist movement and its impact on the democratic transition of Nepal

Download
Author
Adhikari, Saroj Kumar
Date
2015-03Advisor
Halladay, Carolyn
Matei, Florina Cristiana
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Nepal’s age-old ethnic grievances created a platform for the Maoists to launch their political strategy into broad sections of Nepalese society. The explicit politicization of ethnic grievances helped propel the party to victory in Nepal’s first constitutional election in 2008. Soon thereafter, however, the Maoists lost the lead role in Nepalese politics, in no small part because they failed to deliver on their ethnic promises. This thesis examines the rise and fall of the Maoists in Nepal, as well as the sources and context of the ethnic grievances that have simmered in the country throughout its modern political history. It finds that genuine reform has collided with (and frequently lost out to) the short-term agitations of power politics across the partisan spectrum. In this context, the present thesis establishes a framework to understand the role of ideas in democratizing states. The clash between ideas and ideology on the matter of ethnic grievances sheds light on how the Maoists failed to convert the claims of their movement into the actions of their party in government. The lesson for the remaining parties is clear: resolving Nepal’s ethnic tensions is a matter of ongoing urgency in the country’s democratization.
Rights
Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner.Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Prachanda the mastermind behind the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal
Shahi, Prem. (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2010-12);This study focuses on the leadership roles of Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias "Prachanda", in the Maoist's political victory in Nepal. The Nepalese Maoist Insurgency under Prachanda's leadership, without strong evident external ... -
Understanding counterinsurgency in democratic settings: counterinsurgency success and failure in Kashmir and Nepal
Dhakal, Chok Bahadur (Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School, 2014-03);This analysis examines India's ongoing counterinsurgency (COIN) campaign in Kashmir and the Nepalese campaign against the Maoists from 1996 to 2006. Both COIN efforts have encountered extensive ethnic mobilization and ... -
WHY DO RADICAL INSURGENTS JOIN MAINSTREAM POLITICS? A CASE STUDY OF THE MAOIST INSURGENCY OF NEPAL
Gaire, Suresh (Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School, 2020-12);The Maoist insurgency of Nepal, which lasted from 1996 to 2006, was a major communist armed insurrection that cost more than 13,000 lives and brought a significant change to Nepal’s historical political structure. This ...