Nepal's Instability Conundrum: Navigating Political, Military, Economic & Diplomatic Landscape

Contents: Preface. Acknowledgements. Chapter 1: Background: Stability- National Security Nexus. 1.1 Know Who We Are. 1.2 Battle for Means (Sadhan). 1.3 Ramification of Odd Civil Military Relations. 1.4 Armed Insurgency: No.1 Threat to Stability. 1.5 Chaotic and Painful Transition. 1.6 Scrutinizing Special Relationship. 1.7 External Influence. Chapter 2: Founding Philosophy, National Security Concept and Strategy. 2.1 Organizing Philosophy of Nepali Nation. 2.2 Defining National Security. 2.3 Identifying Nepal’s Core Values. 2.4 Nepal’s National Interest and Threats. 2.5 National Security Concepts. 2.6 Evolution of Nepal’s National Security Concept and Strategy. 2.7 National Security an Evolving Concept. Chapter 3: Domestic Political Culture and Instability. 3.1 Domestic Political Context. 3.2 Underlying Causes of Political Instability and State Failure. 3.3 Politicization of Security Agencies. 3.4 Politicization of Counter Insurgency Campaign. 3.5 Political Instability in Transition Period. Chapter 4: Civil-Military Relations, Stability and Security. 4.1 Conceptualizing Civil-Military Relations. 4.2 Historical Perspective. 4.3 State of Civil-Military Relations under Twin-Pillar Policy. 4.4 Civil Military Relations under Republic Setup. 4.5 Nepalese Army’s Roles on Security and Stability. Chapter 5: State Response to Maoist Insurgency. 5.1 Maoist Objective and Strategy. 5.2 External Support to Maoist Insurgency. 5.3 State Responses. 5.4 Political Mess amidst Maoist Insurgency. 5.5 Unique Culmination of Maoist Insurgency. 5.6 Fallout of Maoist Insurgency. 5.7 Assessment of State Response. Chapter 6: External Influence: Interest and Strategy of India, China, U.S., U.K. and Nepal. 6.1 Geography, Geopolitics and their Impacts. 6.2 Nepal’s External Threat Perception. 6.3 Nepal’s Foreign Policy under Different Era. 6.4 India’s Interest and Nepal Strategy. 6.5 Nepal’s Perception, Interest and India Strategy. 6.6 China’s Interest and Nepal Strategy. 6.7 Nepal’s Perception, Interest and China Strategy. 6.8 Nepal-US. Security Relations. 6.9 Nepal-U.K. Security Relations. Chapter 7: Change, Continuity and Prospects. 7.1 The Change. 7.2 The Continuity. 7.3 The Prospects. Index.
Nepal has experienced a vicious cycle of political instability since the 1950s, which has become a new normal. This book examines the instability conundrum through five drivers: founding philosophy, national interest and threats, domestic political culture, civil-military relations, state response to armed insurgencies, and interest and Nepal strategies of external powers. General Silwal unearths numerous unknowns and puts together relevant facts and trends to support his assumptions and analysis. His vast military experience and higher education at home and abroad enabled him to view the country’s problems from different angles and put them into perspective.
Nepal experienced almost all political systems, but none of them provided sustained stability and desired economic progress. Its underlying reasons and intricacies are cross-examined and discussed in the book. The domestic political feud in different forms and manifestations, odd civil-military relations, armed insurgencies, and external meddling attributed to protracted political instability and security vulnerability.
Multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy collapsed in just one-and-half decade as it failed to maintain political stability and control the Maoist insurgency. The federal democratic republic has also been entangled in instability. Hence, the domestic situation made the country weaker to protect its national interests. The author argues that there can be no political stability and development in the country without having charismatic leadership, stability within political parties, and civilian control over the army.