The Nature and Practice of Political Contention in Nepal (Contentious Politics and Democratization in Nepal) (Book Review‪)‬

Mahendra Lawoti (ed.), 2007. Contentious Politics and Democratization in Nepal. New Delhi: Sage Publications. Lists of Tables, Abbreviations, Index, 348 pp, Rs.695 IC hardcover. The theme of the book which is particularly assured of contemporary interests and lasting impression is the integral relationship between contentious politics and the process of democratization in Nepal. The book is built on the foundation of a familiar hypothesis that coercive/violent contention may facilitate democratization during autocratic period but might constrain democracy when the democratic process is operating. Lawoti deserves kudos for bringing together an assembly of scholars and their contributions touching on the low politics long ignored for the best, which is, however, rapidly becoming high politics at the nerve centre of national polity. The book analyses the trajectories of contentious politics and the embattled democracy, tribulations of transition from a non-party to multiparty system, the political transformation marred by inept leadership, systemic corruption and lack of responsibility and accountability. Consequently, both endogenous and exogenous forces of democratization are put on trial as pedestrian performance of political leadership incredibly eroded their legitimacy and lost opportunities for institutionalizing democracy in Nepal. The book also points at ethno-nationalism with identity assertion as increasingly becoming a matter of crucial research interest on contentious politics rather than simply investigating the process of democratization under the rubric of formal politics based on structural, institutional and functional analyses.