The relationship between ethnic politics and democracy presents
a paradox for scholars and policy makers: ethnic politics
frequently emerge in new democracies, and yet are often presumed to
threaten these new democracies. As ethnic politics is becoming
increasingly central to Nepali politics, this book argues it has
the potential to strengthen rather than destabilize democracy.
Drawing on years of ethnographic fieldwork, Susan Hangen focuses on
the ethnic political party Mongol National Organization (MNO),
which consists of multiple ethnic groups and has been mobilizing
support in rural east Nepal. By investigating the party's discourse
and its struggles to gain support and operate within a village
government, the book provides a window onto the processes of
democratization in rural Nepal in the 1990s. This work presents a
more nuanced understanding of how ethnic parties operate on the
ground, arguing that ethnic parties overlap considerably with
social movements, and that the boundary between parties and
movements should be reconceptualised. The analysis demonstrates
that ethnic parties are not antithetical to democracy and that
democratization can proceed in diverse and unexpected ways.
Providing an in-depth discussion of the indigenous nationalities
movement, one of Nepal's most significant social movements, this
work will be of great interest to scholars and students of Asian
Politics, South Asian Studies, and Political Anthropology.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!