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The Role of Civil Society in Shaping Democratic Civil-Military Relations During Political Transition in Nepal

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The Role of Civil Society in Shaping Democratic Civil-Military Relations During Political Transition in Nepal View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2015-03 The role of civil society in shaping democratic Civil-Military Relations during political transition in Nepal Satyal, Bhuwan Purna Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/45251 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN SHAPING DEMOCRATIC CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS DURING POLITICAL TRANSITION IN NEPAL by Bhuwan Purna Satyal March 2015 Thesis Advisor: Carolyn Halladay Co-Advisor: Florina Cristiana Matei Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704–0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED March 2015 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN SHAPING DEMOCRATIC CIVIL- MILITARY RELATIONS DURING POLITICAL TRANSITION IN NEPAL 6. AUTHOR(S) Bhuwan Purna Satyal 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. IRB Protocol number ____N/A____. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) This thesis examines the role of civil society in shaping democratic civil-military relations (CMR) through several political transitions in Nepal, with an emphasis on the current period. Since its first experience with democracy in 1950, the king interrupted Nepal’s pursuit of consolidation until the political revolution of 2006; afterwards, democratic consolidation at the official level has revolved around seeking consensus among the political leaders. This over-focus has led to incomplete consolidation and weakened the formal democratic institutions of control. Civil society, on the other hand, has played a variety of roles to greater effect during consolidation, including military affairs and CMR. This thesis analyzes the contributions of three selected civil society groups—the media, Nagarik Samaj, and human rights organizations—to democratic civilian control of the security forces. This thesis finds that despite civil society’s focus on political activities, it has significantly influenced and helped in shaping effective democratic CMR during Nepal’s transition to democracy. However, civil society’s further assistance is required in writing the constitution to drive the country toward the completion of the consolidation, which will ultimately shape strong democratic CMR. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF Nepal Army, civil-military relations, civil society, democratic civilian control, democratic PAGES consolidation, civilian authorities, political leadership, military control, democratic control 111 mechanisms, republic, monarchy, Maoist insurgency, conflict, oversight. 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UU NSN 7540–01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2–89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239–18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN SHAPING DEMOCRATIC CIVIL- MILITARY RELATIONS DURING POLITICAL TRANSITION IN NEPAL Bhuwan Purna Satyal Lieutenant Colonel, Nepalese Army M.A., Tribhuwan University, 2009 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN SECURITY STUDIES (CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS) from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL March 2015 Author: Bhuwan Purna Satyal Approved by: Carolyn Halladay Thesis Advisor Florina Cristiana Matei Co-Advisor Mohammed M. Hafez, Ph.D. Chair, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT This thesis examines the role of civil society in shaping democratic civil-military relations (CMR) through several political transitions in Nepal, with an emphasis on the current period. Since its first experience with democracy in 1950, the king interrupted Nepal’s pursuit of consolidation until the political revolution of 2006; afterwards, democratic consolidation at the official level has revolved around seeking consensus among the political leaders. This over-focus has led to incomplete consolidation and weakened the formal democratic institutions of control. Civil society, on the other hand, has played a variety of roles to greater effect during consolidation, including military affairs and CMR. This thesis analyzes the contributions of three selected civil society groups—the media, Nagarik Samaj, and human rights organizations—to democratic civilian control of the security forces. This thesis finds that despite civil society’s focus on political activities, it has significantly influenced and helped in shaping effective democratic CMR during Nepal’s transition to democracy. However, civil society’s further assistance is required in writing the constitution to drive the country toward the completion of the consolidation, which will ultimately shape strong democratic CMR. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................1 A. MAJOR RESEARCH QUESTION................................................................1 B. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH QUESTION .................................3 C. LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................................5 1. Theoretical Aspects of Civil-Military Relations ................................6 2. Understanding Civil-Military Relations in Nepal ...........................10 3. Understanding the Role of Civil Society in General .......................12 4. Understanding Civil Society in Nepal ..............................................15 D. POTENTIAL EXPLANATIONS AND HYPOTHESES ...........................16 E. RESEARCH DESIGN ...................................................................................18 F. THESIS OVERVIEW ...................................................................................18 II. CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS IN THE POLITICAL TRANSITIONS OF NEPAL ........................................................................................................................21 A. HISTORY OF NEPAL’S POLITICAL AND MILITARY TRANSITIONS ..............................................................................................21 1. Political Development After Democratic Restoration in 1950 .......22 2. The King’s Seizure of Executive Power in 1960 ..............................24 3. Democratic Restoration of 1990 .......................................................25 4. Maoist Insurgency ..............................................................................27 5. The King’s Takeover in 2005 and the Democratic Transition of 2006......................................................................................................28 B. NEPAL’S CMR AMID THE TRANSITIONS ............................................30 1. The Army in Nepal.............................................................................31 2. Reasons Behind the Problems in CMR ............................................32 a. Political Instability ..................................................................33 b. Weak Institutions ....................................................................33 c. Incomplete Transition .............................................................36 d. Ignoring the Military After Transition ...................................37 C. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................38 III. CIVIL SOCIETY DURING NEPAL’S POLITICAL TRANSITIONS ................41 A. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN NEPAL ..............41 B. CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION .................43 C. ROLE PLAYED BY CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS DURING POLITICAL TRANSITIONS.......................................................................45 1. The Media ...........................................................................................46 a. Conducting Public Debates and Talk Shows .........................46 b. Exercising External Oversight ...............................................49
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