Since 1996 Nepal has been experiencing violent conflict. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) initiated an armed insurgency drawing support from other groups in society, such as ethnic minorities, thus enlarging their capacity as a fighting and political force. After having introduced a multi-party democracy system in 1990 and drafted a new constitution, Nepal went from an aspiring democracy, to a state in internal turmoil. The current situation is that the internal actors: the Maoists, the political parties and an array of other actors (often excluded from power), are locked in a conflict where the core issues that have to be addressed are the division of power, minority rights, and gender issues among others. In addition to the internal political conditions, the geo-political position of the Himalayan State means that developments in Nepal are of direct interest to two regional hegemons: China and India. Thus the development of the conflict in Nepal is not only a question of national security, but also of regional stability.
Currently the project is conducting a comprehensive study of the conflict in Nepal, and will aim to examine and analyze the Nepali conflict from the specific perspective of conflict management and conflict prevention. To this end, it will present a comprehensive picture of the conflict formation with regard to its history and the parties to the conflict, both positive and negative for the prospect of peace. By critically examining the role and goals of all groups and interested parties to the conflict, their appropriateness with regard to different kinds of measures for conflict management and prevention can be more accurately determined. The insight provided can in turn lead to better and more effective conflict management and conflict prevention measures.
To further promote capacity building in conflict management, the project will also initiate and hold seminars and workshops on conflict management for different group's representative of the political society in Nepal, such as politicians, civil society and the military. In doing so, the project will contribute to increased knowledge and capacity building in the fields of conflict prevention and management in Nepal. By creating a common language and understanding with regard to issues and concepts in conflict management and prevention the project aims to provide more favourable conditions.
One research activity will focus on constitution-building in Nepal. The Constituent Assembly (CA) has been endowed with drafting a new permanent constitution after the 10 April 2008 elections. With the deadline for a new constitution approaching, the purpose of this research will be to constructively discuss the constitution-making process. As it is acknowledged an important and integral part of Nepal's peace- and state-building process, this group will thus seek to support the Nepalese in their task by conferring about and contemplating on new ideas and perspectives.
Additional topics -related to successful constitution building- may also be addressed, for example subjects concerning security sector reform or battling corruption. Above all, this grouping of researchers intends to be a place where its participants can safely converse about different ideas and where new input could benefit parties involved in Nepali constitution-building. This is just one part of the project and there will be many more endeavours like the one mentioned above.
As a further way of disseminating knowledge and exchange experiences the project will also invite guest researchers to spend extended time at the Program in order to conduct studies on issues related to the situation in Nepal from a conflict management perspective.
