Foreign Policy of Nepal: Shifts and Opportunities
For the countries like Nepal, which is a land-locked least developed country (LLDC) and sandwiched between the two regional powers like China and India, it becomes challenging to have an independent foreign policy based on its national interests. However, Nepal considering its geo-strategic location, has followed a foreign policy based on more survival kind of diplomacy to protect its sovereignty, national integrity, security and the survival of regimes (political stability). Post-democratisation, Nepal’s foreign policy is now shifting towards developmental diplomacy-based policy which includes the development of democratic institutions, socio-economic development, and regional co-operation which will ultimately lead towards peace, progress and prosperity.
This paper presents a very brief introduction of the foreign policy of Nepal since its integration and how the different regimes pursued its foreign relations. The paper also discusses the national interest and guiding principles of the foreign policy of Nepal. Finally, the paper will analyse the current shifts and opportunities in the foreign policy of Nepal.
The following research questions being addressed here:
1) What are the determinants of the foreign policy of Nepal?
2) Why the earlier regimes in Nepal remained focused on the security and survival of their regimes?
3) How is the democratic regime in Nepal dealing with the development-oriented objectives of the foreign policy of Nepal?
The study will also examine the following hypotheses:
1) The monarchical regime in Nepal adopted a foreign policy based on security and survival diplomacy.
2) Post-democratisation Nepal’s foreign policy objectives have gone under a major shift from survival diplomacy to becoming development-oriented diplomacy.
This study adopts quantitative and qualitative methods of research. Here the research problems will apply deductive reasoning and will proceed on an empirical plane. The study will use the primary sources available on the topic and will use secondary literature from a wide range of books and journals and various research articles.
Keywords: Nepal, Survival Diplomacy, Developmental Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, Economic Foreign Policy, National Interest