PODS by PEI

Ep. Br#006 In 2018, the Supreme Court of Nepal, in response to public interest litigation filed by a group of human rights lawyers, issued a verdict to grant “external voting rights” to the Nepali diaspora. Today’s episode is a discussion between Anuj Tiwari, Senior Researcher at PEI, and Anurag Devkota, one of the lawyers responsible for that public interest litigation, about the issue of voting rights, or the lack thereof, for the Nepali diaspora. The discussion is based on Anurag’s 2020 op-ed piece, Nepal’s Own Mail-In Voting Crisis, which was published in The Record. The topic, however, is more relevant today as Nepalis get ready to partake in the 2022 general election in a matter of days, but without the Court mandated provision.   The two discuss Anurag’s reasons behind filing the public interest litigation in 2017 and his take on the failure of the Election Commission of Nepal to implement the verdict of the Supreme Court. Anurag argues that the lack of political representation of the Nepali diaspora, especially those who are out for labor migration, is a key reason behind the vulnerability that has resulted in the active exploitation of their human rights. And that it is our responsibility to ensure their right to vote, given that the country relies so much on their contributions. We also discuss some of the systemic and political challenges to implementing external voting, including logistics, cost, and political will, and the practices of several countries in Asia and Africa that are similar to Nepal.   Anurag is a human rights lawyer at the Law and Policy Forum for Social Justice. He holds an LLM degree from Loyola University Chicago. He is the incoming Global Criminal Justice Fellow at the Center for Criminology at Oxford University and the Civil Society and Public Administration Fellow at the Toronto Metropolitan University. He also runs “Rights Lab,” a research institution that works on the issues of rule of law, democracy, human rights, and migration governance. 

Ep. Br#005 PEI, in collaboration with SoAS, University of London, has been undertaking a research project that examines how federalism is being operationalized in Nepal. As part of this research, PEI followed the municipal elections held earlier this year in May and produced an election brief highlighting the concerns regarding candidacy selection by political parties and its implications on the potential representation of women and marginalized groups. The brief also pointed out the discontent among local leaders who had lost out on the candidacy, resorting to intra-party feud and violence and defections to rival parties. In this Episode of The Brief, PEI’s Shreeya Rana discusses with Anurag Acharya and Avinash Karna the key trends that we have observed in the run-up to the upcoming general elections. These observations are based on PEI’s ongoing sub-national research on federalism in Nepal, done in collaboration with SOAS University of London. The research tracks issues of inclusion and representation, the nature of political alliances, the nexus of business and politics, and how this warrants a more vigilant role of the election commission.  With Nepal all set for the November 20, 2022, general elections where more than 17.9 million registered voters will directly elect 165 members to the House of Representatives under the first-past-the-post system, while another 110 members will be elected through a proportional representation (PR) system. Anurag is PEI’s Director of Practice, with a background in international relations and journalism. He is a well-known political commentator and has written extensively on Nepal and South Asia for national and international publications. Avinash is PEI’s coordinator of subnational programs. He has a decade-long experience working in the areas of peacebuilding and governance.

Ep. Br#004 Nepal and India do not only share borders but also relationships with rivers. More than 6000 rivers flow from Nepal to the Bay of Bengal through India. Koshi, Gandak, and Karnali river systems are the three most important river ecosystems that feed and foster the Ganges river ecosystem. Annually these rivers swell up during monsoon season and flood the downstream area in the southern part of Nepal and the States of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India, affecting the lives and livelihood of people, and raising the vulnerability of those living in the floodplain. With the changing climate, the floods are becoming more disastrous, claiming thousands of lives and affecting the food-energy-water nexus of millions of people on each side of the border. There is animosity against each other, especially regarding the cause of the flood issue. However, for this shared problem, India and Nepal need to explore together and benefit from a critical ecosystem through transboundary cooperation alongside flood management. In this episode of The Brief: Lasata discusses with Santosh Dahal, a humanitarian and disaster management professional with work experience for over a decade, on the latest paper he co-authored, “Rich water, poor people: Potential for transboundary flood management between Nepal and India”. The article explores flood-related transboundary challenges, particularly in Koshi and Gandak river basins, and potential actions for transboundary flood management. They would be discussing the changing pattern of floods in the region and the challenges faced. by the vulnerable communities in flood-prone areas and efforts at the Nepal-India Border for flood management. Santosh Dahal has experience in various capacities, especially in the sector of emergency response, and disaster risk management. In the course of his professional career, he has experience in technical assistance in social mobilization, governance, advocacy, and capacity building including coordination with central-level government stakeholders, local government authorities, national Red Cross society chapters, and local partners. He is currently working as a senior technical advisor in Plan International and a visiting faculty for climate change and disaster management courses prescribed for master’s level students of Environment Science at Tribhuvan University.

Ep. Br#003 As the world gathers in Egypt for COP 27 this week, the discussion on climate change, its global impact, and the need to curb dependency on carbon-intensive sources of energy take center stage. Joining this spirit of climate consciousness and innovative rethinking, PEI colleagues - Saurab Lama and Nirjan Rai - discuss PEI’s 2021 paper “The Political Economy of Mainstreaming Renewable Energy in Nepal.” The two discuss the hydro-dominant narrative of Nepal’s electricity sector and the significance of other-than-hydro renewable energy sources in pursuit of its energy goals. They go further into the politics of institutions in the sector and how the extant interests and incentives in the sector are obstructing mainstreaming initiatives. They conclude with recommendations on the need to increase the electricity consumption of the average Nepali and to change the sector narrative that includes issues of climate change and energy security,  Nirjan is a researcher with over a decade of experience in designing, managing, and leading analytical studies on Nepal's energy and water governance. He helped establish Policy Entrepeneurs Inc and Niti Foundation, two Nepali policy research institutions, and has worked at the Asian Development Bank and The Asia Foundation. He is also a United World College alum and an Asia Foundation Development Fellow. The paper is can be downloaded from PEI’s website

Ep. Br#002 The 2017 elections were lauded for their cognizance of the historically bleak presence of women in the political sphere of Nepal, to overcome this, the State mandated a Quota reserve of 40.4% of all nominee seats for women. The policy affirmed the presence and participation of Nepali women in politics, as approximately 14,000 women were elected into different positions in the Nepali Government. In this episode of The Brief: PEI colleague Khushi Hang sits with Sumina Rai Karki to discuss the latest paper she co-authored, “Beyond Capacity”. As the tenure of the first set of elected officials in this particular inclusion quota comes to an end, Sumina Rai Karki et al. gauge the effectiveness of the affirmative action policies for women against the backdrop of Nepali patriarchal psycho-social contexts in their paper “Beyond Capacity”. The two explore what gendered implications exist in the informal or unofficial aspects of Nepali elections that hinder women’s chances at merit-based political opportunities during candidacy and their agency once they assume office. Sumina shares their findings on the challenges that limit the supply of politically ambitious women and signals the need for smarter policy interventions from the State and Development Partners that address the barriers that prevent women from fulfilling the space and responsibilities of the quota. Sumina Karki is a development professional and researcher with ten years of experience in gender equity, social inclusion, governance, and peacebuilding. Currently, she is the Assistant Director of Social Development Programs at the Asia Foundation Nepal office. She is a founding member of Chaukath, a feminist collective that organized the Vote for Women Campaign and several feminist reading sessions along with March as Women in collaboration with Martin Chautari.

Note: This week’s episode of PxP:Conversations, between PEI’s Anurag Acharya and Ambassador Ranjit Rae, is a continuation of last week’s episode. Please listen to the earlier episode if you haven't already. Ep. Co#006 The geopolitical landscape of South Asia continues to evolve, with India forced to concede its traditionally uncontested influence to other superpowers, namely, China and the United States. While the US is more strategically allied with India, increasing Chinese influence has directly challenged Indian hegemony in the region. Considering all of these moving pieces, there arises the question of what this geopolitical shift means for recipient countries like Nepal, which has continued to rely on aid provided by developed countries to expand its infrastructures and spur economic growth. In this episode, Anurag asks Ambassador Rae to share intricate details about his engagement with Nepal and its messy politics, from his ring-side view of the 12-point agreement signed between Nepal’s political parties and the CPN-Maoist, to his challenging period in office as an Indian Ambassador to Nepal. The two then discuss Ambassador Rae’s proposition, detailed in his recent book  “Kathmandu Dilemma: Resetting India-Nepal Ties” on how the two countries can overcome the historic and recent tensions, and mutual suspicion, to reset bilateral ties that are grounded on new geopolitical realities. Ambassador Rae is a retired Indian diplomat. During his tenure of over 30 years in the Indian Foreign Service, he held various positions, including | the  Ambassador of India to Vietnam and Hungary; the First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in New York, and the head of the Northern Division in the Ministry of External Affairs dealing with Nepal and Bhutan. From 2013 to 2017, Ambassador Rae served as the Indian Ambassador to Nepal. During these years, Nepal witnessed some historic events including the promulgation of the new constitution and the earthquake of 2015. This was also a tumultuous period in the Nepal-India relationship, which Ambassador Rae has discussed extensively in his book. ************************ Our theme music (Evening Session: The Hill) is courtesy of Rohit Shakya of Jindabaad. 

Ep. Co#005 The geopolitical landscape of South Asia continues to evolve, with India forced to concede its traditionally uncontested influence to other superpowers, namely, China and the United States. While the US is more strategically allied with India, increasing Chinese influence has directly challenged Indian hegemony in the region. Considering all of these moving pieces, there arises the question of what this geopolitical shift means for recipient countries like Nepal, which has continued to rely on aid provided by developed countries to expand its infrastructures and spur economic growth. In this episode of Conversations, which is the first of a two-part series, we have PEI’s own Anurag Acharya with our guest, the former Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Ranjit Rae. The two speakers examine India’s role in Nepal, in context of the recent domestic political developments that have shaped bilateral relationships and aid negotiations with New Delhi. Mr. Ranjit Rae is an Indian diplomat with over 30 years of experience in the Indian Foreign Service, which includes participation in complex negotiations both at bilateral and multilateral levels and extensive work in conflict areas. He has since held various positions in international and state organizations, including the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), as well as Offices of the Minister of External Affairs and of the President of India, where Mr. Rae served as a Press Secretary to the President.

Ep. Di#001 आजको भागमा, हामी पी. ई. आई द्वारा हालै आयोजित ‘नेपालमा मिडिया, सर्वाजनिक बहस, र वैदेशिक सहायताको कुटनीति’ शिर्षकको प्यानल छलफलको लाइभ रेकर्डिङ साझा गर्दैछौं । यस सत्रको संचालन खोज पत्रकारिता केन्द्र नेपालकी कार्यक्रम प्रबन्धक अवस्ना पाण्डेले गर्नुभएको थियो । उहाँ यसअघि द काठमाडौं पोस्टमा सम्पादकीय पृष्ठको सम्पादकको रूपमा काम समेत गर्नुभएको छ। उहाँ संग अन्य तीन वक्ताहरू प्यानलमा सामेल हुनुहुन्थ्यो। हाम्रो पहिलो वक्ता प्रमिला देवकोटा हुनुहुन्थ्यो, जो संग मिडियामा काम गरेको १५ वर्षभन्दा बढीको अनुभव छ र नेपालको परराष्ट्र नीतिका विषयमा नियमित रूपमा लेखिरहनु भएको हुन्छ। उहाँ हाल वुहानको सेन्ट्रल चाइना नर्मल युनिभर्सिटीबाट अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय सम्बन्धमा पीएचडी गरिरहनुभएको छ। हाम्रो दोस्रो वक्ता सुधीर शर्मा हुनुहुन्थ्यो, नेपालको सबैभन्दा ठूलो दैनिक पत्रिका - कान्तिपुरका प्रधान सम्पादक। उहाँ नेपालकै सर्वाधिक बिक्रि भएको पुस्तक ‘प्रयोगशालाः नेपाली सङ्क्रमणमा दिल्ली, दरबार र माओवादी’ का लेखक पनि हुनुहुन्छ। हाम्रो अन्तिम वक्ता कृष्ण ज्ञवाली हुनुहुन्थ्यो, जसले वातावरण मन्त्रालय र स्थानीय विकास मन्त्रालयमा सचिव र अर्थ मन्त्रालयमा सहसचिवको रूपमा काम गरिसक्नुभएको छ, जहाँ उहाँले वैदेशिक सहायता समन्वय महाशाखाको नेतृत्व गर्नुभएको थियो । सन् २०१४ मा नेपाल सरकारले मिलेनियम च्यालेन्ज कर्पोरेशनको राष्ट्रिय संयोजकको भूमिकामा ज्ञवालीलाई नियुक्त गरेको थियो । प्यानलले नेपालको लागि वैदेशिक सहायता, पूर्वाधार र कूटनीतिको विकसित परिदृश्य र एम. सि. सि. बहस वरपरको विवाद सहित, बैदेशिक सहायताको कूटनीति सम्बन्धि कथा स्थापित गर्न परम्परागत र सामाजिक संचार माध्यमको भूमिकाको बारेमा छलफल गरेको छ |

Ep. Co#004 Nepal’s hydropower narrative has always had the export of electricity to India as one of the key components. In this episode of PxP:Conversations, Saumitra Neupane and Sagar Prasai discuss how the Indian electricity market gets featured in Nepal’s hydropower imagination, the impact that this has had on Nepal’s ability to exploit its hydropower potential, and what differentiates the Nepali model from that of other bilateral arrangements such as those between India and Bhutan. They also examine India’s policy positions in the last ten years on cross-border electricity trade and how regional rivalry between India and China is complicating energy markets in South Asia. They also discuss the future market opportunities for Nepali hydropower and whether there are longer-term trends that support supply signals and investor confidence for Nepali hydropower. They end their conversation with a discussion on the possibilities of markets beyond India, primarily Bangladesh but also China, and evaluate whether there are realistic opportunities on these fronts. Sagar Prasai is a development professional with over two decades of experience working in the areas of water, energy, climate issues, and regional cooperation in South Asia. He is currently based in Nepal and provides advisory services to various organizations, including The Asia Foundation and the Australian Government’s DFAT. Previously, he served as The Asia Foundation’s country representative in India. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. To catch the latest from us on Nepal’s policy and politics, please follow us on Twitter at Tweet2PEI, that’s TWEET, followed by the number 2, and PEI. You can also follow us on Facebook at policyentrepreneursinc, or visit our website: www.pei.center to learn more about our work.

Ep. Co#003 Countries in the Asia Pacific region are increasing investments in their physical infrastructures to stimulate growth and economic recovery, especially in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic. Three of the world’s largest economies – the US, China and Japan – are actively maneuvering for economic and geopolitical influence in the emerging Asian markets. But how should governments and markets that sit within targeted countries handle this newfound attention? How can they turn competing interests of big powers into advantage for their people? In this episode of Conversations, the two speakers explore the rise of China as a superpower and its impact on the evolution of aid as a foreign policy tool. This episode features PEI’s own Anurag Acharya and our guest Anthea Mulakala, the Senior Director of International Development Cooperation at The Asia Foundation. Over the last decade, she has worked in Asian development cooperation, particularly understanding how rising powers, such as China and India, are transforming the 21st century aid and development landscape. This episode examines China’s Belt and Road Initiative, its increasing use of infrastructure diplomacy in the Asia Pacific, and how the West is trying to counter its set of infrastructure-oriented development financing. The speakers also discuss the implications of the Great Power Rivalry in South Asia, how India is maneuvering to maintain its influence over the region, and the opportunities and challenges this holds for aid-recipient countries like Nepal.