The Brief: Mushtaq Khan on Madhesh and the Challenge of Inclusive Federalism in Nepal - A Political Settlements Framework Analysis

EP. Br#008 Contemporary economics and policy studies struggled with two main paradoxes: while on one hand policies previously successful in some countries remain futile in others, on the other hand, different approaches were capable of solving the same issues in different contexts. A Political Settlement Framework tackles this paradox by acknowledging the need to tailor policies to the idiosyncrasies of each society. Within the framework, the primary focus is on understanding the social context as it studies the interaction between groups (organizations) and the rules they are subjected to (institutions). In this episode, PEI colleague Khushi Rai sits with Prof Mushtaq Khan on his political settlements analysis of the Madhes Province. The conversation is based on an upcoming publication that he has co-authored, titled: “Madhesh and the Challenge of Inclusive Federalism in Nepal”. This briefing paper is based on a provincial settlement study drafted from a tracking exercise at the national, provincial, and local spheres of governance in Nepal by SOAS and PEI under the Research and Evidence on Nepal’s Transition project. Mushtaq is a Professor of Economics at SOAS University of London, where he heads the Anti-Corruption Evidence Research Consortium and is also the joint lead for the Research and Evidence on Nepal’s Transition project. He is a leading thinker on political settlements. The two explore the process of mobilization in Madhesh, the drivers of their movement, and how all of that culminated in the Constitution that was eventually promulgated. They also examine the role of Madhesh in the implementation of federalism, the evolution of new settlements with the emergence of newer actors, and what all this means for the future of inclusive federalism in Madhesh. They end with three plausible scenarios in this regard and also discuss the possible implications for federalism in Nepal.