The Remake of a State Post-conflict Challenges and State Building in Nepal Edited by Bishnu Raj Upreti Sagar Raj Sharma Kailash Nath Pyakuryal Safal Ghimire Published by South Asia Regional Coordination Office of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR North-South) and Human and Natural Resources Studies Centre, Kathmandu University Citation: Upreti BR, Sharma SR, Pyakuryal KN, Ghimire S, editors. 2010. The Remake of a State: Post-conflict Challenges and State Building in Nepal. Kathmandu: South Asia Regional Coordination Office of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR North-South) and Human and Natural Resources Studies Centre (HNRSC), Kathmandu University. Copyright © 2010 by the SAs RCO, NCCR North-South, Kathmandu, Nepal. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-9937-2-2463-5 Subsidised price: NRs. 400/- Layout/cover design: Jyoti Khatiwada Printed by: Heidel Press Pvt. Ltd. Dillibazar, Kathmandu Cover photo: Safal Ghimire (A woman sewing the Nepali national flag in Pokhara) Disclaimer: The content and materials presented in this book are of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South, or the HNRSC, Kathmandu University and, therefore, these organisations will not assume any responsibility regarding the content and the materials contained in this book. Dedicated to the people investing their relentless efforts to re-engineer the society we live in. The editors of the book The Remake of a State: Post-conflict Challenges and State Building in Nepal acknowledge support from the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South, co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the participating institutions. Preface and acknowledgement State building has been a ubiquitously debated topic in these days. Be in war-torn Iraq or conflict-ridden Afghanistan, or in the countries suffering from instability, this issue is becoming vital in terms of physical reconstruction, socio-economic transformation as well as in academic discourse. It is more so in the case of South Asia now, especially amidst the two diversely transforming aftermaths of conflict viz., those of Sri Lanka and Nepal. Amidst this context, the present book is basically an outcome of the contributors’ observation, points of view and analysis over the issues pertinent to the state building in post-conflict Nepal. Most of the authors incorporated in this volume are the active discussants at the national and international forums and are experts in the respective areas. Several of these authors are also researchers involved in the collaborative works between the HNRSC of Kathmandu University and the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR North-South). We anticipate that this book with chapters on conceptual framework, review of national and international experiences and relevant case studies in state building will serve in promoting post-conflict state building in Nepal. We also hope that the book will be equally useful to the societies in similar situations, and to the researchers and practitioners of development. Our sincere gratitude goes to all who helped us during the course of preparing this volume. Even though it is the least possible to mention all of them, we would like to name a few whose support remained crucial in bringing this volume into this shape. The foremost acknowledgement is allocated to the tireless efforts of all the chapter contributors who agreed to write on the respective issues. We share especial credit with Dr Bharat Pokharel, Dr Bimala Rai Paudyal, Dr Jane Carter, Dr Prabin Manandhar and Dr Ramji Neupane who have contributed their chapters even amidst the tightest datelines. Other contributors inside our research collaboration are also hard to forget while thanking. Thanks are due to the team of the HNRSC in the School of Arts, Kathmandu University and South Asia Regional Coordination Office of the NCCR (North-South). The editors i are indebted to these institutions also for their publication support Encouragement from Dr Thomas Breu and Prof Dr Ulrike Müller Böker is also highly appreciated. Mr Siddhi Manandhar, has spent his valuable times in logistic arrangements; he deserves our best gratitude. We express our gratefulness to the cordial respondents who provided the valuable information and all the known and unknown reviewers who spent great many times on the manuscript of this book. Last but not the least; we are much obliged to you, the valuable readers, who have chosen to go through this book with your best interest. We are looking forward to getting valuable comments and suggestions from you which would serve as the critical forces to make us continue what we are doing. The Editors June 2010 ii List of contents Preface and acknowledgement............................................................ i Acronyms and abbreviations................................................................ vi Chapter 1 Post-conflict state building: Issues and challenges......... 1 Kailash Nath Pyakuryal, Safal Ghimire Chapter 2 Conceptual framework for post-conflict state building.. 17 Bishnu Raj Upreti Chapter 3 Private sector and post-conflict state building............... 47 Sagar Raj Sharma Chapter 4 Addressing poverty and promoting good governance: Community forestry in post-conflict Nepal..................... 65 Bharat Kumar Pokharel, Jane Carter Chapter 5 Sustainable tourism and post-conflict state building...... 87 Pranil Kumar Upadhaya, Sagar Raj Sharma Chapter 6 Forestland reform: Transferring state property to community property in post-conflict Nepal................... 111 Bharat Kumar Pokharel, Bimala Rai Paudyal Chapter 7 Reconstruction and development in post-conflict Nepal.. 129 Bishnu Raj Upreti Chapter 8 Addressing land-based discrimination in post-conflict Nepal........................................................ 151 Purna Bahadur Nepali, Kailash Nath Pyakuryal Chapter 9 The forgotten forces: Role of migrants in post-conflict Nepal....................................................... 167 Anita Ghimire, Bishnu Raj Upreti Chapter 10 Militarisation of the youth: Hindering state-building in post-conflict Nepal................................................... 193 Anjana Luitel, Bishnu Raj Upreti, Ashok Rai Chapter 11 The post-conflict Trojan horse: Upsurge of urban crimes as a challenge to state building........................ 211 Safal Ghimire, Bishnu Raj Upreti Chapter 12 Proliferation of small arms and challenges to post-conflict state building......................................... 241 Bishnu Raj Upreti iii Chapter 13 Reconciliation and reintegration in post-conflict Nepal... 259 Bishnu Raj Upreti Chapter 14 Contradiction and duality: Deterring state-building in post-conflict Nepal..................................................... 287 Prabin Manandhar, Ramji Neupane Chapter 15 The long and winding road of state building................. 305 Sagar Raj Sharma About the editors................................................................................ 311 List of tables Table 3.1 Human development by regions..................................... 49 Table 3.2 Some key indicators of the Nepalese economy.............. 50 Table 3.3 Joint-venture industries in operation in Nepal............... 53 Table 4.1 CFUGs’ investment to the bipanna households.............. 74 Table 5.1 Fluctuating figures of tourism during and after the armed conflict........................................................... 103 Table 6.1 Bundles of rights associated with positions.................... 112 Table 6.2 Ostrom’s design principles.............................................. 115 Table 6.3 Three external design principles..................................... 116 Table 7.1 Damages of physical infrastructure during the armed conflict........................................................... 137 Table 10.1 Main militant groups formed by the political parties/groups................................................................. 198 List of figures Figure 2.1 Interrelated components of post-conflict state building.... 20 Figure 2.2 Components of state restructuring................................... 21 Figure 2.3 Fundamental components for creating national identity... 22 Figure 2.4 Interrelationship among various policies for post-conflict state building................................................ 23 Figure 2.5 Essential component of good governance in post-conflict state building............................................... 24 iv Figure 2.6 Essential components for dealing with the past............... 25 Figure 2.7 Components of rule of law and dealing with the past...... 26 Figure 2.8 Factors determining the success of post-conflict state building............................................... 27 Figure 2.9 Components of bureaucratic restructuring and ensuring services....................................................... 28 Figure 2.10 Factors affecting insecurity in society.............................. 31 Figure 2.11 Components of SSR.......................................................... 37 Figure 2.12 Components of political party reform.............................. 40 Figure 3.1 Human development by ethnic groups............................ 50 Figure 5.1 Holistic framework of ST................................................... 91 Figure 5.2 Institutions and actors involved in making