Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 11/2010

Nepal's Political Rites of Passage

September 2010

International Crisis Group

Abstract

Nepal’s transition from war to peace appears chaotic. Many commentators warn of coming anarchy; the establishment fears a collapse of the social order and the fragmentation of the nation. But such fears are misguided. Nepal is not in chaos; its transitions may be messy and confusing but they are not anarchic. There is an order within the political change, albeit one that can be mysterious and unappealing to outsiders; the resilience of Nepal’s political processes acts against fundamental transformations. This report attempts to understand the country’s political processes and cultures and reassess the state of the peace process by examining three major questions.