The Politics of Diversity Treatment in Contemporary Nepal: From Difference Elimination to Difference Management?

Nepal's democratic transition has raised the question of how to treat the country's diversity. After years of authoritarian rule featuring a “difference elimination” approach to diversity, political actors involved in Nepal's constitution-making process are favoring different federal solutions for the country. Although all of these solutions broadly fit into a “difference management” logic, some forms of federal structuring are designed to promote the (state) national identity while others cater more to minority groups. This article argues that the positioning of Nepal's key political actors is shaped by strategic thinking about the extent of their own power and support for group identity in any future arrangement. It also suggests that the debate is influenced by contextual conditions specific to the country such as poverty, extreme diversity, the precarious nature of democracy and even of civil peace, and a vulnerable geopolitical situation.