Let\u27s Talk About It: Political Relationships in Nepal

This study examines the relationship between citizens, political parties, and local government in Nepal. Specifically, the research focuses on the relationship as it pertains to the decision-making processes in the VDC and DDC in Salleri, Solukhumbu. Through interviews with individuals at the policy level in Kathmandu, officials in Salleri, and residents of Salleri, the research studies this interaction and how it relates to citizen’s individual agency, political parties’ role as a middleman, and local government’s ability to communicate with local residents. The research concludes that parties are the only way for citizens to take their demands to local bodies. This process involves a capitalization on the needs of citizens, and a deprivation of citizen agency. It also enfeebles the local government’s ability to communicate with citizens, and it becomes reliant upon parties for the functionality of the political system