Youth Political Engagement and Democratic Culture in Republican Nepal

Authors

  • Tom O'Neill
  • Bijaya Raj Poudel
  • Nabin Maharjan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2218/himalaya.2019.7848

Keywords:

Nepal, democratic politics, youth political engagement

Abstract

Nepal’s transformation from an autocratic monarchy to a democratic republic presupposes the development of democratic institutions, and the current generation of Nepali youth, particularly those in higher education, are uniquely situated in that process. As such Nepali youth constitute a distinct generation along the lines specified by Karl Mannheim and others. In the past efforts to mobilize Nepalese youth have been aimed at integrating them as useful assets in the service of Nepalese political institutions, such as political student unions, but in this paper, based on fieldwork and interview data collected in 2013 and 2016, we argue that politically active youth today should be understood as an autonomous though heterogeneous constituent force that is in counterpoint with normative political institutions.

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Published

06-Mar-2020

Issue

Section

Research Articles

How to Cite

Youth Political Engagement and Democratic Culture in Republican Nepal. (2020). HIMALAYA - The Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies, 39(2), 18-28. https://doi.org/10.2218/himalaya.2019.7848