The deep-rooted political acculturation may be a stance to the youth-led GenZ movement of Sept 8-9, 2025. Timed for twenty-four hours only, the movement broke out the existing frames of government bodies, leading to the elevation of opposition-less party system in Nepal. Even the Supreme Court was not spared. A rush of hot-blooded youth march broke out the history in the quest of a corruption-less society sweeping the existing political scenario. An echo is burst symbolizing the challenge for status quo-ist political parties of Nepal with reform and change, like Barack Obama’s slogan of ‘Change We Can Believe in’, in his second presidential tenure.
Alarmed by the recent happenings, GenZ forces seek the rooms to debut the recent Nepali politics, but the uneven polarization between them was heavily entertained by the existing parties. A beacon of hope was ended in no time effortlessly. Still an echo of youth on dignity-based politics predominantly appears. Many of the carriers of this GenZ movement are scattered now, many more are part of RSP and other existing parties. Standing straight, the alternative political forces i.e. Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) along with Ujjyalo Nepal and others appear ready to bring in young leaders in the political arena. Reformist Nepali Congress 2.0, along with CPN-UML, and NCP, is seeking for the inclusive political ground for the GenZers by providing candidacy but their effort has gone in vain, at least temporarily, as the result of March 5 elections has shown.
State itself is not a factor to change or reform, but the political forces being the drivers need to change. But they seem derailing. Here, political forces are a fiasco, not the state. Respective manifestoes of the political parties are liable to carry the solid developmental amalgamation but this carries the same outline as earlier. Being on the optimistic ground, the manifesto must carry rational and behavioral grounds of reformation but are on the same page. The alternative new political force in Nepal, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is debuting in the parliament with a majority, with its commitment paper.
Crack the fact
Schools of thought based on democracy seem diverse in nature, but the core value carries the equal line of freedom, justice, and equality. The democratic scale for election is a landmark for building a rational state. The fact and figures of democracy sometimes cow down the people in the name of democratic institutionalization, this seems more absurd and unsound. A real democracy provides the rule of law maintained through election as Norway got in 1884—142 years before Nepal. This hard fact of rationality and dignity in political culture is easy to express but hard to execute. The political parties of Nepal would do well to think over a democratic culture maintained through people's mandate and voters’ verdict.
Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt’s ‘How Democracies Die’ carries a solid insight of how democracy is being killed by elected political leaders in the name of their power exercise and power play. Military takeover is likely to end democracy by which social institutions are weakened due to frequent interventions of elected leaders. Social institutions may be judiciary, mass media, civil service, intelligence agencies and more. We can relate to similar examples in South Asian least developed countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. In the case of Nepal, a GenZ movement broke out recently leading to significant changes and propelling the Rastriya Swatantra Party to power through a popular vote.
On cracking the fact, utopia-based political culture developed through assurance and reassurance is graphically in line to tumble due to the hiked literacy rate of Nepalese citizens. This may be also due to the sustained instability, social media spark, vicious gap seen between the leader and the citizen. This is all due to the vanished civic faith of the past invited by leaders themselves. In order to rebuild trust, the people need political and economic assurance that the state’s processes would restore their security and execute the law. Still now the people of Nepal are ripe for change and progress.
Stardom of masses
Mass in democracy is not only a matter, but the mass leading to change is a factor to feel. This mass-based absurdity developed in the state is not more than an underdog activity. In other words, democracy is a factor of rule based on mass and it holds the spirit of decision-making under the public sphere where citizens hold the authority for debate, defenestration and acceptance. This is likely to make democratic process more reliable, dynamic and public-focused. Western democracies are strong due to increased public participation, high ideals, and wide literacy rate. Such types of contemporary issues are mandatory to institutionalize democracy in Nepal.
The democracy of Nepal nowadays carries the idea of recognition, fame and influence. The idea of democracy based on these tendencies are a simultaneous result of existing leadership in the past affiliated with old schools of thought. Now the old school of thought is in line to substitute for the new ideals. So the fame level is expected to extend from trivial to the comprehensive level. The scale of change and speed are minimizing the barrier to the large level of aware audience. This may create the state of unhealthy competition in the political streamline. And as a result the politician again tries to move for stardom.
In Nepal now, growing influence of political leaders toward fame-based politics seems unhealthier, but other influential factors catalyze a leader’s strength as ‘you can do it’ attitude adding a possible feature. So, narratives are anchored based on democratic mismatch.
Is it the end?
Democracy is not only a landmark to achieve something in spite of another. The regressive school of democracy is not a credibility of leadership. Instead, they are liable to gain echo and yield powerful touch in the public mindset. But touches are feeble and heinous, as rolling stones that do not catch the mosses. The conduct of ancient and modern democracy is maintained through voter’s verdict as Lincoln addressed Gettysburg in 1863. Rousseau also claimed this as ‘Peoples’ general will’.
This is not the end of an era, but in the long run the democratic conduct will carry a realpolitik phenomenon consisting of rule based politics, accountable leaders, socio-economic inclusion, liable democratic institutions and more. A good ground for democratic process starts when elections are held in a free and fair manner. It directly or indirectly or on a periodic basis provides a subtle platform for political instability. This is the optimum value of democratic conduct.
The value and spirit chain of democracy believes in give and take. It too seeks for majority-based rule and minority to stand as a strong criticizer on wrong doing of the majority. Under this sequence the state itself moves on the developmental periphery. The state of democracy remains clear and trusty.
A perfect example of effective democratic practice is Switzerland. Switzerland has achieved notable success in both democracy and federalism, demonstrating how inclusive governance and strong institutions can function together harmoniously. There are many valuable lessons to be learnt from its model. As a country that has also adopted a democratic and federal system, Nepal can benefit greatly by studying and adopting relevant aspects of Switzerland’s experience to strengthen its own political and federal structures.
