Before the Dust Settled: Is Nepal’s 2015 Settlement a Seismic Constitution?

Two significant institutional developments occurred in the aftermath of the major earthquakes that struck Nepal in 2015: a new national constitution was drafted and promulgated and a National Reconstruction Authority was established. The constitution had been promised for over seven years, and was now completed within just over three months, while it took seven months for a Bill establishing the NRA to be passed in parliament. Many commentators have posited a direct causal relationship between the earthquake and the ‘fast-tracking’ of what was in certain respects a contentious constitution. Drawing upon conversations and interviews conducted in Nepal over the winter of 2017–18 and a close reading of media discourse and political analysis from 2015, this article will examine and assess the extent of this supposed causality. Given that the most radical and contentious change ushered in by the new constitution was the introduction of a federal structure for the state, particular attention will be paid to the evolution of the debate on this issue