Development in Nepal: Investment in the status quo

Metz, John J.

doi:10.1007/bf00814063

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…There are two issues here: (1) climate policy processes are embedded within these international development and environmental discourses, and (2) the claims made by international development actors to promote participatory and 'good governance' spaces are too technocratic to empower the local groups most at risk. This is evident from studies that have highlighted how development aid has either strengthened the status quo (Metz, 1995) or reinforced inequality contributing to social conflicts in Nepal (Sharma, 2006;Upreti, 2004). Moreover, given the political and social differences that exist in Nepal, creating some space for participation is not enough (Tamang, 2011) as this can in itself lead to 'participatory exclusion' (Agarwal, 2001); more critical to representation in policy making is how the underlying power relations are addressed (Gaventa, 2004;Kothari & Cook, 2001) and what opportunities for transformative deliberation are created (Nightingale & Ojha, 2013;Ojha et al, 2014).…”

Section: International Framing Of Policy Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Policy without politics: technocratic control of climate change adaptation policy making in Nepal

Ojha¹,

et al. 2015

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As developing countries around the world formulate policies to address climate change, concerns remain as to whether the voices of those most exposed to climate risk are represented in those policies. Developing countries face significant challenges for contextualizing global-scale scientific research into national political dynamics and downscaling global frameworks to subnational levels, where the most affected are presumed to live. This article critiques the ways in which the politics of representation and climate science are framed and pursued in the process of climate policy development, and contributes to an understanding of the relative effectiveness of globally framed, generic policy mechanisms in vulnerable and politically volatile contexts. Based on this analysis, it also outlines opportunities for the possibility of improving climate policy processes to contest technocratic framing and generic international adaptation solutions. Policy relevanceNepal's position as one of the countries most at risk from climate change in the Himalayas has spurred significant international support to craft climate policy responses over the past few years. Focusing on the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) and the Climate Change Policy, this article examines the extent to which internationally and scientifically framed climate policy in Nepal recognizes the unfolding political mobilizations around the demand for a representative state and equitable adaptation to climate risks. This is particularly important in Nepal, where political unrest in the post-conflict transition after the end of the civil war in 2006 has focused around struggles over representation for those historically on the political margins. Arguing that vulnerability to climate risk is produced in conjunction with social and political conditions, and that not everyone in the same locality is equally vulnerable, we demonstrate the multi-faceted nature of the politics of representation for climate policy making in Nepal. However, so far, this policy making has primarily been shaped through a technocratic framing that avoids political contestations and downplays the demand for inclusive and deliberative processes. Based on this analysis, we identify the need for a flexible, contextually grounded, and multi-scalar approach to political representation while also emphasizing the need for downscaling climate science that can inform policy development and implementation to achieve fair and effective adaptation to climate change.

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Section: International Framing Of Policy Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Policy without politics: technocratic control of climate change adaptation policy making in Nepal

Ojha¹,

et al. 2015

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“…The new King Tribhuvan met an untimely death in 1955. The subsequent crowning of his son Mahendra was met with serious opposition from the Indian-backed Congress Party, and the situation was made worse by the continual postponement of promises of democracy (Metz, 1995). Although the Nepali Congress government managed to gain power for a brief time in 1959±60, their stated commitment to extensive land reform provoked the landed eÂ lite to enact a coup that re-established Mahendra's sovereignty (Blaikie et al, 1980).…”

Section: The Modernization Era: (1951 To 1973)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…. For an analysis of how the project of development has served to only entrench traditional power structures seeMetz, 1995;Misra and Sharma, 1983. Metz makes the argument that development has most served the status quo by (a) direct diversion of funds into eÂ lite's hands, especially as Panchayat leaders have been able to obtain and`distribute' development money; (b) the use of inappropriate development theories which emphasize investment in infrastructure at the expense of agriculture; and (c) poor implementation as a consequence of the institutional policies of aid donors.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Representing Crisis: The Theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation and the Project of Development in Post‐Rana Nepal

Guthman¹

1997

Development and Change

120

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Erik Eckholm is attributed with having popularized a theory of environmental crisis in the Nepal Himalaya. In his treatise Losing Ground (1976), he links population growth to contemporary upland deforestation and soil erosion, which are presumed to cause downstream¯ooding and silting. Since the 1980s, this theory has come under intense criticism on empirical, theoretical and ideological grounds, although it remains a sacred cow in the popular press. A historiography of the theory reveals that representations of and discourses on the nature and extent of environmental degradation have been an important dimension of three distinct aid regimes that shaped the post-World War II development project in Nepal. As such, within speci®c historical and institutional constellations, some conclusions have seemed more tenable than others, and certain interventions have become more legitimate. Moreover, the production of environmental interventions is intimately connected to the production of environmental knowledge, both of which are intrinsically bound up with power relations. Therefore, the facts about environmental deterioration have become subordinate to the broader debates on the politics of resource use and sustainable development.

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“…Since homogeneity was the goal, state policy viewed cultural and ethnic diversity as a threat to nation building. The Panchayat system reinforced the socio-economic inequality of earlier regimes and reaffirmed the authority of the high caste landed elite, while socially, politically, and economically marginalizing of the majority of the population (Metz 1995, Shakya 2002, Sharma 2002, Shrestha 1990).…”

Section: The Panchayat Systemmentioning

confidence: 96%

Lives, Livelihoods, and Landscapes: A Study of Land Use and Social Change in Northeastern Nepal

Anderson¹

2000

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Development in Nepal: Investment in the status quo

Cited by 21 publications

References 6 publications

Policy without politics: technocratic control of climate change adaptation policy making in Nepal

Policy without politics: technocratic control of climate change adaptation policy making in Nepal

Representing Crisis: The Theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation and the Project of Development in Post‐Rana Nepal

Lives, Livelihoods, and Landscapes: A Study of Land Use and Social Change in Northeastern Nepal

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