The Interconnectedness between Institutional Quality, Civil War and Institutional Reform: A Case Study of Nepalese Maoist Civil War

Authors

  • Saroj Kumar Aryal University of Warsaw

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26881/jpgs.2021.3.06

Keywords:

Civil War, Institutional Reform, Institutional Design, Institutionalism, Nepalese Civil War

Abstract

Various factors trigger civil war, depending on the society and stages of political development. But analyzing it through the quality of an institution or some provisions of institutions may lead to a possible cause of a civil war. Thus, the primary objective of this article is to investigate institutional quality and its role in triggering a civil war. This paper argues that there is interconnectedness between institutional quality, civil war, and institutional reforms, which occurs as a series of events. Although the article provides many examples, in the second section, the case study of Nepalese decade-long civil war and post-civil war institutional reform has been presented to back the argument made in the paper. By discussing various dynamics of historical institutionalism, the paper mainly analyzes the primary and secondary sources.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Acharya K.K., 2018, Local governance restructuring in Nepal: from the government to governmentality, Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 12, 37–49. doi: 10.3126/dsaj.v12i0.22178.

Adhikari D., 2017, The Saga of Conflict Transformation and Peace Process in Nepal: A Unique Account, Journal Of Education And Research, 7(2), 23–42. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/jer.v7i2.21245.

Adhikari D., 2019, Nepal: 13 years after civil war ends, victims await justice. Anadolu Agency, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/ asia-pacific/nepal-13-years-after-civil-war-ends-victimsawait-justice/1530499 (accessed 16 October 2021).

Adhikari P., 2013, Conflict-induced displacement, understanding the causes of flight, American Journal of Political Science, 57(1), 82–89, doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2012.00598.x.

Ansorg N., Kurtenbach S., 2017, Introduction: Institutional Reforms and Peace Building: Change, Path – Dependency and Societal Divisions in Post‐War Communities, Routledge, New York.

Apont A., 2019, Peace Accord Implementation in Colombia: Urgent Need to Adhere to the Spirit of the Accords, Latin America Working Group, https://www.lawg.org/peaceaccord-implementation-in-colombia-urgent-need-to-adhere-to-the-spirit-of-the-accords/. (accessed 16 October 2021).

Arjona A., 2016, Institutions, Civilian Resistance, and Wartime Social Order:A Process-driven Natural Experiment in the Colombian Civil War, Latin American Politics and Society, 58(3), 99–122, doi: 10.1111/j.1548-2456.2016.00320.x.

Babovic B., 2003, On the structure of the Serbian police during the 1990s, Analysis of Regulations Regarding Responsibility for Control of the Interior Ministry of the Republic Serbia, Slobodan Milošević, ICTY.

Bajracharya B., 2004, Poverty in Nepal, [in:] M.K. Dahal (Ed.), Nepalese Economy: Towards Building a Strong Economic Nation-State, New Hira Books Enterprises, Kirtipur, 111–126.

Bhandari R.K., 2015, Transitional justice in Nepal: the perspective of the victims, Justice Info, https://www.justiceinfo. net/en/2384-transitional-justice-in-nepal-the-perspective-of-the-victims.html (accessed 16 October 2021).

Bieber F. 2010, Policing the Peace after Yugoslavia: Police Reform between External Imposition and Domestic Reform. GRIPS Policy Research Center, http://www3.grips. ac.jp/~pinc/data/10-07.pdf, (accessed 16 October 2021).

Boogards M., 2013, The Choice for Proportional Representation: Electoral System Design in Peace Agreements, Civil Wars, 15(1), 71–87, doi: 10.1080/13698249.2013.850881.

Brancati D., 2006, Decentralization: Fueling the Fire or Dampening the Flames of Ethnic Conflict and Secessionism?, International Organization, 60(3), 651–685, doi: 10.1017/ S002081830606019X.

Bryden A., Hänggi H., 2004, Reform And Reconstruction of the Security Sector, Die Deutsche Bibliothek, Münster.

Cailmail B., 2008, The fall of a Hindu monarchy: Maoists in power in Nepal, Ifri, Paris-Brussele. Coccia M., 2018, An Introduction to the Theories of Institutional Change, Journal of Economics Library, 5(4), 337–344. doi: 10.1453/jel.v5i4.1788.

Collier P., Hoeffler A., 2002, Greed and grievance in civil wars, Oxford University Centre for the Study of African Economies, Oxford.

Collier P., Hoeffler A., 2004, Greed and Grievance in Civil War, Oxford Economic Papers, 56(4), 563–595. Comprehensive Agreement Bangsamoro, 2014, https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/ PH_140327_ComprehensiveAgreementBangsamoro.pdf (accessed 16 October 2021).

Constitution of Nepal – Nepal Law Commission. Law Commission, https://www.lawcommission.gov.np/en/archives/ category/documents/prevailing-law/constitution/constitution-of-nepal (accessed 16 October 2021).

Crisis Group, 2005a, Nepal’s Maoists: Their Aims, Structure and Strategy, https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-asia/ nepal/nepals-maoists-their-aims-structure-and-strategy (accessed 16 October 2021).

Crisis Group, 2005b, Prachanda-War Policy of the Nepalese New Democratic Revolution in the Context of Historical Development, in Problems and Prospects of Revolution in Nepal (Janadisha Publications, 2004), Asia Report No. 104.

Davis P., Larson E., Haldeman Z., Oguz M., Rana Y., 2012, Public Support for the Maoists in Nepal, [in:] Understanding and Influencing Public Support for Insurgency and Terrorism, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, 119–150, http://www.jstor. org/stable/10.7249/mg1122osd.13 (accessed 16 October 2021).

Do Q., Iyer L., 2010, Geography, poverty and conflict in Nepal, Journal of Peace Research, 47(6), 735–748.

Farrell H. Newman A.L., 2010, Making global markets: Historical institutionalism in international political economy, Review of International Political Economy, 17(4), 609–638. doi: 10.1080/09692291003723672.

Fearon J., Laitin D., 2003, Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War, The American Political Science Review, 97(1), 75–90.

Fioretos O., 2011, Historical Institutionalism in International Relations, International Organization, 65(2), 367–399. doi: 10.1017/S0020818311000002.

Gersovitz M., Kriger N., 2013, What Is a Civil War? A Critical Review of Its Definition and (Econometric) Consequences, The World Bank Research Observer, 28(2), 159–190.

Giovanni C, Kelemen R.D., 2007, The Study of Critical Junctures: Theory, Narrative, and Counterfactuals in Historical Institutionalism, World Politics, 59(3), 341–369. doi: 10.1017/S0043887100020852.

Gobyn W., 2009, From War to Peace: The Nepalese Maoists’s Strategic and Ideological Thinking, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 32(5), 420–438, doi: 10.1080/10576100902831578.

Greif A., Laitin D., 2004, A Theory of Endogenous Institutional Change, American Political Science Review, 98(4), 633–652. doi: 10.1017/S0003055404041395.

Grossman H., 1991, A general equilibrium model of insurrections, American Economic Review, 81(4), 912–921.

Hall P.A., Taylor R.C.R., 1996, Political Science and the Three New Institutionalisms, Political Studies, 44(5), 936–957. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9248.1996.tb00343.x.

Hay C., 2002, Political Analysis. A Critical Introduction, Palgrave Macmiilan, New York.

Hirshleifer J., 2001, The dark side of the force. Economic foundations of conflict theory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Hoeffler A., Collier P., 2011, ‘Greed’ versus ‘Grievance’: A Useful Conceptual Distinction in the Study of Civil War?, Studies in Ethnicity And Nationalism, 11(2), 274–284. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-6576.2011.01111.x.

Humphreys M., Weinstein J.M., 2008, Who fights? The determinants of participation in civil war, American Journal of Political Science, 52(2), 436–455. doi: 10.1111/j.1540- 5907.2008.00322.x.

Joshi B.L., Rose L.E., 1966, Democratic innovations in Nepal: a case study of political acculturation, University of California Press, Los Angeles.

Karki A., Seddon D., 2003, The People’s War in Nepal: Left Perspectives, Adroit Publishers, New Delhi. Keen D., 2012, Greed and grievance in civil war, International Affairs, 88(4), 757–777. doi: 10.1111/j.1468- 2346.2012.01100.x.

Kingston C., Caballero G., 2009, Comparing Theories of Institutional Change, Journal of Institutional Economics, 5(2), 151–180. doi: 10.1017/S1744137409001283.

Koubi V., Böhmelt T., 2014, Grievances, economic wealth, and civil conflict, Journal of Peace Research, 51(1), 19–33. doi:10.1177/0022343313500501.

Lawoti M., Pahari A.K., 2010, The Maoist Insurgency in Nepal: Revolution in the twenty-first century, Routledge, London.

Lecomte-Tilouine M., 2010, Martyrs and Living Martyrs of the People’s War in Nepal, South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal, 4, 1–21. doi: 10.4000/samaj.3018.

Libecap G.D., 1989, Contracting for Property Rights, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

López E., 2016, History and Causes of the Colombian Conflict, Feed, https://feed.jeronimomartins.com/hot/historyand-causes-of-the-colombian-conflict/ (accessed 16 October 2021).

Mao Zedong, 1927, Report of an Investigation into the Peasant Movement in Hunan to the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Jacobs and Baerwald, Chinese Communism. Mapping Militant Organizations, 2018, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam, Stanford University. https://cisac.fsi.stanford. edu/mappingmilitants/profiles/liberation-tigers-tamilelam (accessed 16 October 2021).

March J.G., Olsen J.P., 1998, The Institutional Dynamics of International Political Orders, International Organization, 52(4), 943–969.

Mohammad T., 2008, Post-Conflict Peace-Building in Nepal: the Role of Civil Society, UNESCO, https://en.unesco.org/fellowships/keizo-obuchi/summary-research-carried-out/ post-conflict-peace-building-nepal-role-civil-society (accessed 16 October 2021).

Murshed S., 2002, Conflict, Civil War and Underdevelopment: An Introduction, Journal of Peace Research, 39(4), 387– 393, doi: 10.1177/0022343302039004001.

Myerson R., 2004, Justice, Institutions, and Multiple Equilibria, Chicago Journal of International Law, 5(1), 91–107.

Nepal’s Peace Process: A Brief Overview, 2013, Nepal Institute for Policy Studies (NIPS), https://issat.dcaf.ch/ download/111494/2023947/Nepal’s%20Peace%20 Process_A%20Brief%20Overview_Eng%20(2).pdf. (accessed 16 October 2021).

Ostby G., 2008, Inequalities, the political environment and civil conflict: evidence from 55 developing countries, [in:] F. Stewart (Ed.), Horizontal Inequalities and Conflict, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 136–159.

Paris R., Sisk T.D., 2009, The Dilemmas of Statebuilding: Confronting the Contradictions of Postwar Peace Operations, Routledge, London. Reilly B., 2006, Political Engineering and Party Politics in Conflict‐Prone Societies, Democratization, 13(5), 811–827. doi: 10.1080/13510340601010719.

Reynolds A., Reilly B., Ellis A., 2008, Electoral system design: The new international IDEA handbook, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Stockholm.

Sakellaropoulos S., 2011, On the Causes of the Civil War in Nepal and the Role of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Cultural Logic-A Journal of Marxist Theory, 18. doi: 10.14288/clogic.v18i0.190926.

Saldanha C., 2008, The Provincial Performance Improvement Initiative, Asian Development Bank, https://www.adb. org/sites/default/files/publication/29197/provincial-performance-improvement-initiative.pdf (accessed 16 October 2021).

Sambanis. N., 2003, A Review of Recent Advances and Future Directions in the Quantitative Literature on Civil Wars, Defence and Peace Economics, 13(3), 215–243. doi: 10.1080/10242690210976.

Schmidt V., 2010, Analyzing Ideas and Tracing Discursive Interactions in Institutional Change: From Historical Institutionalism to Discursive Institutionalism, APSA 2010 Annual Meeting Paper, https://ssrn.com/abstract=1642947 (accessed 16 October 2021).

Shah S., 2008, Revolution and Reaction in the Himalayas: Cul - tural Resistance and the Maoist “New Regime” in Western Nepal, American Ethnologist, 35(3), 481–499.

Shrestha A., 2002, Dalits in Nepal: Story of Discrimination, Asia Pacific Human Rights Information Center – FOCUS-30, https://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/sec - tion2/2002/12/dalits-in-nepal-story-of-discrimination. html (accessed 16 October 2021).

Sreshtha M., Adhikari B., 2005, Internal Displacement in South Asia: The Relevance of the UN’s Guiding Principles, Sage, New York.

Steinmo S., 2008, Historical institutionalism, [in:] D. Della Porta, M. Keating (Eds.), Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences: A Pluralist Perspective, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 118–138. doi: 10.1017/ CBO9780511801938.008.

Sunam R., Goutam K., 2013, The rise of Maoists in Nepali poli tics: from ‘people’s war’ to democratic politics, East Asia Forum, https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2013/03/15/therise-of-maoists-in-nepali-politics-from-peoples-war-todemocratic-politics/ (accessed 16 October 2021).

Taydas Z., Peksen D., 2012, Can states buy peace? Social welfare spending and civil conflicts, Journal of Peace Re - search, 49(2), 273–287, doi: 10.1177/0022343311431286.

Thapa D., Sijapati B., 2007, A kingdom under siege: Nepal’s Maoist insurgency, 1996 to 2004, Zed Books. Chicago.

The Center for Justice, n.d., El Salvador – CJA, Cja.org., https:// cja.org/where-we-work/el-salvador/. (accessed 16 Octo - ber 2021).

The Worker, 1997, One Year of People’s War in Nepal: A Review, http://www.bannedthought.net/Nepal/Worker/Work - er-03/OneYearOfPW-Review-W03.htm (accessed 16 Oc - tober 2021).

United Nations, 2005, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), New York.

Voeten E., 2019, Making Sense of the Design of Internation - al Institutions, Annual Review of Political Science, 22(1), 147–163. doi: 10.1146/annurev-polisci-041916-021108.

Wolff S., 2011, Post‐Conflict State Building: The Debate on Institutional Choice, Third World Quarterly, 32(10), 1777–1802. doi: 10.1080/01436597.2011.610574.

Yin R.K., 2003, Case study research: Design and methods, Sage, New York.

Downloads

Published

2021-11-29

How to Cite

Aryal, S. K. (2021). The Interconnectedness between Institutional Quality, Civil War and Institutional Reform: A Case Study of Nepalese Maoist Civil War. Journal of Geography, Politics and Society, 11(3), 59–70. https://doi.org/10.26881/jpgs.2021.3.06

Issue

Section

Articles