From War to Peace: The Nepalese Maoists's Strategic and Ideological Thinking

In February 1996, the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) initiated a bloody war to establish a Mao-stile ‘people’s republic’. A decade later, however, they signed a peace agreement with the government, joined the mainstream political parties in parliament and in an interim government and participated in democratic elections. This article provides some insight into the Nepalese Maoists strategic and ideological thinking. More specifically, this article shows the reason behind the party’s change of tactics and goals and describes the process in which these changes materialised.In February 1996, the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) initiated a bloody war to establish a Mao-stile ‘people’s republic’. A decade later, however, they signed a peace agreement with the government, joined the mainstream political parties in parliament and in an interim government and participated in democratic elections. This article provides some insight into the Nepalese Maoists strategic and ideological thinking. More specifically, this article shows the reason behind the party’s change of tactics and goals and describes the process in which these changes materialised.A