Conference Year: 2014

My PhD research used a qualitative methodology known as grounded theory while applying a political economy lens to the situation of social assistance provision in Nepal. 70 interviews were completed with a diverse range of key informants predominantly residing in Kathmandu. These included development partners, NGOs, GoN, unions, private sector, academics, journalists and political parties. …

‘If I Say Left, the Government will Go Right’: Dalit Perceptions and Experiences of Governance and Social Protection in Three Villages in Sarlahi, Nepal Read More »

As a revolt against the exclusionary practices of the society, Dalits have been raising their voices and demanding equality from long ago. Despite the history of the movement, it is believed that the Dalit movement in Nepal has been unable to make substantial changes at the political arena and in the lives of common Dalit …

Muted and Fragmented: Dalit Social Movement in Nepal Read More »

Nepal, one of poorest nations in Asia, a hub of development institutions and activities, and a testing ground of development-branded projects and lifestyles since the last third of the 20th Century, has also become one of its most socially progressive and least restrictive in online communication, and, arguably, on the ground activism. However, its rapid …

Cyber-Urban Environmental and Heritage Revitalization Communities and Movements in the Kathmandu Valley Read More »

The experience and impact of distress (notion of suffering) depends on the geography(ies) where the distress occurs. For adolescents attending school in Nepal, their home, community and school are the three major locations (physical geographies) where distress is experienced due to situations that oppose their expectations in three emotional geographies (individual body geography, inter-personal geography …

Geographies of Adolescent Distress in Nepal Read More »

The Bhutanese refugees represent an ethnically and linguistically Nepali minority group that was forced to flee Bhutan in the early 1990s (Evans, 2010; Hutt, 2003). Throughout their protracted displacement, the Bhutanese refugee camp population has been subject to considerable psychiatric study and intervention. Moreover, in the five years since the onset of resettlement, Bhutanese refugee …

Beyond “Psychosocial”: The Social Ecology of Care in Two Bhutanese Refugee Communities Read More »

Despite being the oldest state in South Asia and having gone through eight constitutions (two proto-constitutions and six formal constitutions), Nepal is still grappling with constitutional instability as the first Constituent Assembly (2008-2012) could not craft a constitution and it is not certain whether the Second Constituent Assembly elected in November 2013 can craft a …

Competing Nationhood and Constitutional Instability: Representation, Regime, and Resistance in Nepal Read More »

This research examines whether aid that is specifically targeted for trade (referred to in the  literature  as  “Aid‐for‐Trade”  or  AfT)  has  helped  Nepal  in  its  trade  performance. Effectiveness  of  AfT  is  examined  by  analyzing  the  relationship  between  infrastructure development and exports. There are two main approaches used in the paper to analyze the effectiveness of …

Aid, Aid-for-Trade, and Nepal Read More »

The political history of the Himalayan region has demonstrated that states in the region were more prone to political fragmentation rather than consolidation and expansion. The various historians of the region have cited several reasons for this, the terrain, lack of resources, succession disputes which when combined with the terrain complicated the matter etc. Thus …

Understanding the Success of the Gorkha Expansion in the 18th Century: Going Beyond Prithvi Narayan Shah Read More »