In vielen Ländern des globalen Südens wird der vorherrschende Diskurs zur ländlichen Entwicklung hinterfragt. Dies ist auch in Nepal so, wo verschiedene nicht-staatliche Akteure und soziale Bewegungen als neue Vermittler in Erscheinung treten und politische Parteien herausfordern oder ersetzen, die bislang zwischen Staat und Menschen vermittelt haben. Dieser Wettstreit wird durch die Zunahme von Ethno-Politik im aktuellen Prozess der Staatsrekonstruktion kompliziert, in der die Diskussion über einen ethnischen Föderalismus einen entscheidenden Platz hat. Basierend auf einer Fallstudie über die ethnische Tharu-Bewegung untersucht dieser Beitrag die Rolle von Geberorganisationen und internationalen Akteuren in Verhältnis zu den ethnischen Bewegungen in Nepal.
Globally, power and leadership are considered as two unavoidable factors of social change and local development. In Nepal's federal context, the nexus of power and leadership has been less addressed in academic research though most of the studies are focused on local governance. The present study attempts to analyze the nature of leadership and its power structure in the context of rural Nepal. It follows a critical ontological position of the development of power and leadership. Methodologically, a complete leadership of Dogana village in Suddhodhan Rural Municipality of Rupandehi district (Lumbini Province) was undertaken to assess the rural leadership. It is found that the most important factor for holding the rural leadership was 'affiliation with the political party', which was followed by 'well-being ranking' and 'caste/ ethnic status' of the leadership. The rural leaders used to change their policies and strategies to create and sustain power, such as doing multiple professions and building networks other than politics. The paper, therefore, concludes that a significant change occurred in leadership pattern and power structure of rural Nepal from informal to formal, and less inclusive to more inclusive and representative. Despite this, the changes are still elite-centric, politically vested, and economically favorable either to the upper-class people or middle-class mediators (bichauliyas). The study predicts that the contestations in leadership and power-sharing could be more critical in the days to come with the implementation of federalism in the rural context. The implication of this study largely relies on the context of local power structure and village politics in Nepal.
Globally, power and leadership are considered as two unavoidable factors of social change and local development. In Nepal's federal context, the nexus of power and leadership has been less addressed in academic research though most of the studies are focused on local governance. The present study attempts to analyze the nature of leadership and its power structure in the context of rural Nepal. It follows a critical ontological position of the development of power and leadership. Methodologically, a complete leadership of Dogana village in Suddhodhan Rural Municipality of Rupandehi district (Lumbini Province) was undertaken to assess the rural leadership. It is found that the most important factor for holding the rural leadership was 'affiliation with the political party', which was followed by 'well-being ranking' and 'caste/ ethnic status' of the leadership. The rural leaders used to change their policies and strategies to create and sustain power, such as doing multiple professions and building networks other than politics. The paper, therefore, concludes that a significant change occurred in leadership pattern and power structure of rural Nepal from informal to formal, and less inclusive to more inclusive and representative. Despite this, the changes are still elite-centric, politically vested, and economically favorable either to the upper-class people or middle-class mediators (bichauliyas). The study predicts that the contestations in leadership and power-sharing could be more critical in the days to come with the implementation of federalism in the rural context. The implication of this study largely relies on the context of local power structure and village politics in Nepal.
The relation between politics and gender is contentious, which is further implied in the feminist critique of the state. This paper assumes that the nature of the state is gendered. With this ontological position of critical worldview, it aims to synthesize the gendered nature of politics. Methodologically, it is based on the secondary literature and thus the authors did not offer their empirical data to synthesize the major arguments so far. It has first discussed the feminist theoretical debates about the worldview of the state and then offered the empirical issues of power and citizenship. It argues that the state is constructed with contradictions in terms of uneven allocation of resources, gendered institutions, androcentric leadership, and male-biased policies. In this context, the paper analyzes the state as an androcentric construction that is political, coupled with uneven gender relations. The authors also agree that politics eventually makes up the state - the supreme of power and hegemony against the women. The paper finally observes a need for further research works to critique the regimes, hegemony, and institutions of the state at the macro-level and identity, self-dignity, and citizenship of women in the state at the micro-level.
This report analyses the legal framework for local governance in Nepal and how it is practiced in six districts. It focuses specifically on transfer of resources and delivery of services, how various groups participate in local planning, decision-making and implementation of projects and programmes, and relations between local governance institutions and the central government. This research forms part of a comparative study of the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Nepal on "˜Decentralization as a way of resolving conflict'. Tilknyttet prosjekt Decentralization as a strategy for resolving conflicts?
