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Accepted Paper:
The role of local governance in a fragile state: the case of Nepal after the 2006 Peace Agreement.
Neil Webster
(Danish Institute for International Studies)
Paper short abstract:
Local governance in Nepal emerged as critical factor in the country's post-conflict development. The paper examines the role of the national Local Governance and Community Development Programme, the shifting engagements of government, donors, local communities and citizens, and the lessons learned.
Paper long abstract:
The 2006 peace agreement ended 10 years of civil war in Nepal. A number of local government programmes were already in place, but had little significant impact due to the conflict. One programme, the Decentralized Finance and Development Programme, had continued to operate in some of the most conflict-affected districts. It became a basis for the Local Governance and Community Development Programme (LGCDP), launched nationally in 2008. LGCDP introduced an element of accountable local governance in a context of no elected local councils, multiple forms of social exclusion and economic inequality, fractured communities and major political divisions.
Donors played a critical role, but also demonstrated classic 'failings'; national politicians gave support, but also resisted changes that might undermine theirpolitical interests; political parties maneouvered for their own interests. Identity politics, politics of neighbouring countries, and structural weaknesses of the post-conflict economy added to the fragility of the country's political condition.
The paper suggests that while not providing a solution to post-conflict fragility, LGCDP introduced ways for local communities to mobilise and enter a political space of local government and facilitated aspirations and changes contributing to a stronger social contract. However,challenges remain not least due to elite politics as a new federal constitution is implemented and the vulnerabilities of an economy dependent on migrant workers' remittances.
The paper concludes by suggesting that lessons from LGCDP in Nepal have a global relevance, pointing to similar local governance experiences elsewhere. (The author recently worked in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ukraine.)
Supporting change in fragile states: experiences and next steps
Session 1