Website Summary
Can Nepal’s youth-driven political breakthrough turn electoral revolt into durable democratic reform?
In this episode of the SADF Podcast, host Tapas Kanti Baul speaks with Dr Pramod Jaiswal, Research Director at the Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement, about the political transformation following Nepal’s 2026 general election and the unprecedented victory of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).
The discussion explores why voters turned so decisively away from Nepal’s traditional political parties. Dr Jaiswal points to decades of political instability, corruption, weak governance and frustration among younger generations. He argues that the RSP’s rise reflects a demand for a more accountable, younger and performance-oriented political class—but also warns that a large parliamentary majority brings equally large expectations.
The conversation also examines the practical challenges ahead: reforming the bureaucracy, controlling corruption, expanding digital governance, attracting foreign investment and creating meaningful employment for Nepal’s youth. Particular attention is given to tourism and hydropower, as well as to Nepal’s attempt to maintain a pragmatic foreign policy between India, China and other international partners without becoming trapped by ideological alignments or unsustainable debt.
At the heart of the episode is a broader democratic question: can a political movement built on youth mobilisation, anti-corruption and public frustration transform itself into stable, effective government—or will internal rivalry and unmet expectations reproduce the very political failures it was elected to replace?
Tags:
#Nepal #NepalElection #GenZ #YouthPolitics #Democracy #Governance #AntiCorruption #PoliticalReform #RSP #BalenShah #RabiLamichhane #EconomicDevelopment #IndiaChinaRelations #SouthAsia #SADF
