essay federalism in nepal

500 Words Essay On Federalism in Nepal

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Federalism in Nepal

Federalism in Nepal refers to the system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and constituent political units. After a decade-long civil war and the overthrow of the monarchy, Nepal officially adopted federalism as a part of its new Constitution in 2015. The country has been divided into seven provinces, each with their own elected government and legislative assembly.

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The adoption of federalism in Nepal was a response to the long-standing demands of marginalized and minority groups for more autonomy and representation. These groups, particularly those in the Terai region and ethnic minority groups, felt that the central government in Kathmandu had neglected their needs and interests. Federalism was seen as a way to address these grievances and bring about greater inclusivity and equity in the political system.

Despite these challenges, many argue that federalism in Nepal has the potential to bring about significant positive changes in the country. By decentralizing power and allowing for greater participation in decision-making at the local level, federalism can lead to more responsive and accountable government. Moreover, by recognizing and addressing the diverse needs and interests of different regions and groups, federalism can help to promote social and economic development and reduce poverty and inequality.

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Another key aspect of federalism in Nepal is the issue of resource allocation and distribution. The Constitution of Nepal recognises the need for the central government to ensure that the provinces have enough resources to effectively govern and deliver services. However, there is still ongoing debate about how to ensure that resources are distributed equitably between provinces and how to ensure that provinces with less resources and opportunities are not left behind.

Overall, federalism in Nepal is still a relatively new system of government and its implementation is ongoing process. There are many challenges to overcome, but many believe that federalism has the potential to bring about positive changes in terms of representation, accountability and development in the country. However, It will need time to see how effective it is in delivering its promises.

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Federalism: Challenges and Opportunities in Nepal

Molung Educational Frontier

It is assumed that the main aspect of the Constitution of Nepal promulgated on September 20, 2015 is the transfer of power from central/federal to the provincial and local government. However, the devolution process has not been satisfactorily experienced as had been expected when it was promulgated by the overwhelming majority of the then Constituent Assembly. One of the reasons for this slow progress might be some confusion and/ or problem in matters of power sharing between different levels of governments. So, the primary objective of the researcher is to review the power sharing modality existing in the new constitution on different sectors and areas of the state machinery. This paper focuses on the federal structure, demography, power sharing between the provincial and local level, opportunities and challenges of federalism in Nepal. It argues that the restructuring initiatives have not been successful in minimizing the political, social, economic, regional and ethnic inequalit...

Related Papers

Journal of South Asian Studies

Keshav K Acharya

This paper examines the core attributes and characteristics of federalism such as state restructuring, power-sharing, ensuring fundamental rights, and intergovernmental relationships. These are underpinned by constitutional provisions of 2015. Both primary and secondary information were used as a data sources. However, the constitution 2015 and citizens' responses were used as major sources of information. Seventy-two key informant interviews were administered purposely to triangulate the results. Findings indicate that the state was reformed into 7 provinces, and 753 local government units. However, much debate and discussions could not take place adequately on behalf of the state regarding the state restructuring process, nor had any established principles and criteria been used. As a result, there are many doubts have been emerged to implement federalism at the grassroots level. Although the government saying was that few indicators were designed to restructure the local governments, the political parties mainly Madheshi and identity-based sub-regional groups differed to the government decision. In addition, the constitution gives legislative, executive, and judiciary functions to all levels of governments, while capacity restraints, and lack of adequate legal procedures; federation have been extending its dominant role. Latterly, the inter-government relationship was adversely affected due for various reasons. For instance, firstly, imbalances of vertical and horizontal relationships; Secondly, provincial, and local governments' fiscal dependency on the federal government; and thirdly, power-seeking attitude of the bureaucracy. In the end, an applicable mechanism of service delivery and governance integrity is recommended for to effective federalization.

Dr. Vinod Kumar Bhardwaj

Nepal has been serious about establishing Federal model of constitution therein since there last movement for democracy, and especially after 2006 when the monarchy was completely thrown over, leaving zero scope for monarchial restoration there in Nepal. Of course it was a common agenda of all political parties therein and to greater extent it might be the willingness of external actors, but has happened after 2006 in Nepal in the name of finalization of the Constitution and formulation of federal model was not healthier. Besides, it was either more cautiousness or hyper sensitivity towards it that there happened a mass up and downs in politics, beginning with majority of Maovadies in first election and the crowning Prachanda as the Prime Minister of Nepal; and later thrown up of the same party to opposition status and bringing of Nepali Congress and UML coalition in power. As a result the country suffered for more than 9 years to get a constitution, which has been implemented on 20 th Sept. 2015 therein. The marathon for constitutional drafting and delineating federal territories was complicated by the political parties themselves, and whatever has been formulated is again seem to be tentative as it again not able to satisfy public grievances, especially that of Madhesies. It is essentially to mention that the adopted federal territories are more or less the same of Development Regions with some changes therein and creating a total 7 federal units in Democratic Federal state of Nepal. The implemented constitution is a sort of political compromise to fulfill their personal greed and not the public needs.

Dr Bishnu Raj Upreti

Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology

This study examines how far Nepal's current practice of federalism has progressed toward people's aspirations, based on power separation, public trust, power equalization, and intergovernmental relationships. Primary data was collected on purposively 72 key informant interviews, which were then triangulated by the KII response. Finding demonstrates that functions and authorities were devolved in accordance with the principle of separation of powers at all three levels of government. However, the constitutional provisions were completely disregarded, and power was centralized by an unholy alliance of political leadership and bureaucracy. Second, people expected the democratic government to take a welfare approach to ensure greater pluralism and alliances, but special interests of politicians for their election constituencies, as well as identity-based issues, caused havoc in the effective operation of federalism. Third, the provision of three tiers of power-sharing mechanisms was based on coexistence, cooperation, and coordination. However, the federal government appears hesitant to support sub-national governments due to the centralized mindset of bureaucrats and politicians. Fourth, the constitution has focused on intergovernmental relations, but such relationships fail due to imbalances in vertical and horizontal relationships, fiscal dependency, and the bureaucracy's power-seeking attitude. In the end, two key questions for the discussions are raised. First, the institutionalization of accountability at the local level is it a true commitment, or is it merely an ivory tower? Second, the provision of autonomy has been used as a means of transformation or simply as a bargaining tool at the local level?

Tejaswi Sharma

Marcus Brand

One of the key agendas of Nepal’s aborted constitution building process was the endeavor to restructure Nepal into a federal state. The divisions among the main political parties on this issue, reflective of larger divergences among various social and ethnic groups in Nepal’s society, were probably among the prime reasons why the process ultimately failed and why the peace process that began in 2006 has therefore still not come to a formal conclusion. At the same time, the work of the Constituent Assembly has resulted in considerable consensus about how the state in Nepal should be decentralized, in a manner qualitatively different from all earlier decentralization efforts. Even if Nepal has not been given a new Constitution, and even if federalism remains a vague and contested concept for many of Nepal’s people, the path towards more effective, decentralized and inclusive governance is really the only alternative for the country – which appears to be understood by political and bureaucratic elites alike. And yet, too little has been done to prepare for any eventual implementation of a new Constitution whose outlines are clear and tangible enough to expect a significant degree of state restructuring. Efforts to support Nepal’s constitution building process must therefore be accompanied by dedicated and long-term programmes to prepare and facilitate the transition from the currently over-centralized and unitary system to a more shared, inclusive and flexible form of governance for the country. This chapter analyses the early efforts of preparing Nepal for the legal and administrative changes a federal state structure would bring, beginning in 2009 and intensifying in 2010, and summarizes the developments since then, including the eventual dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in 2012. An earlier version of this analysis was written for key stakeholders in the constitution building process – the Constituent Assembly, the Government of Nepal, political parties, civil society, representatives of the institutions that needed to be created, and Nepal’s development partners, in September 2009, at a time when the timely conclusion of the since-aborted constitutional drafting process still seemed within reach. A particular focus then was on the how the constitution building process, and in particular a new formula for sharing powers between the centre and the to-be-created provinces would impact on Nepal’s relationship with its development partners.

Essays on Constitutional Law

A plethora of scholars' contribution elucidates that the constitution of Nepal which was promulgated by deliberative process is a key instrument to deconstruct the federalism. However, little was done to well establish the federalism as an apparatus of socio-economic transformation. This paper examines the core attributes and characteristics of federalism by analysing the constitutional provisions such as state restructuring, power sharing, delevering fundamental rights, and intergovernmental relationships. Both primary and secondary information were used as data source. However, the Constitution 2015 was used as major sources of information. Later, seventy-two key informant interviews were done purposively to triangulate the results. Findings indicate the state was restructured into 7 provinces and 753 local government units. However, no single well-known theory and indicators were adapted to delineate the provinces. Although few indicators were designed to restructure the local governments, the political parties mainly Madheshi were differed to the government decision. In addition, constitution gives legislative, executive and judiciary functions to all levels of governments, while capacity restraints, and lack of legal procedures; federation has been extending its dominant role. Latterly, inter-government relationship was adversely affected due to various reasons. First, imbalances of vertical and horizontal relationships. Second, provincial and local governments' fiscal dependency on federal government. Third, power seeking attitude of the bureaucracy. At the end, an applicable mechanism of service delivery, and governance integrity are recommended for effective federalization.

Federalism Conference Pokhara Presentation

Proceedings: 12th National and International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences

Maki Ito Tsumagari

Federalism comes in many varieties: Some federations are highly centralized with concentration of power in the central government, while some others are more decentralized with extensive autonomy and discretion allocated to sub-federal units. As the youngest federal country in the world, Nepal holds a unique position to share ongoing experiences of how its transfer from a unitary to federal state is unfolding. By tracing a case of setting up and operationalizing Provincial Public Service Commission, a key administrative infrastructure for sub-federal governments to become able to recruit and manage civil service staffing, this study attempted to provide an insight into Nepal's transfer to federalism. The study approached the case from explanatory angle in pursuit of illuminating truth behind the phenomenon observed. The study found that there is a systemic force within the pre-existing political and bureaucratic domains that impede swift launch of Provincial Public Service Commission to serve their constituency. Although the eventual outcome is still open to be seen, from what can be extrapolated from the case, the study concluded that Nepal's federal balance seems to be shaping up into a more centralized, "weakly federal" model.

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Nation-Building and Federalism in Nepal: Contentions on Framework

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This book’s primary contribution to political science will be in the presentation and elucidation of identity-based federalism, a unique concept and a novel form of federalism. Nepal’s Interim Constitution of 2007 and two subsequent reports, prepared for Constituent Assembly-I by its State Restructuring Committee and by the High-Level Commission, were crucial for the conceptualization of identity-based federalism. Theoretical discourse within political science, the comparative experience of South Asian countries, and the federal debate in Nepal all suggest that there are two contrasting nation-building visions—that of the nation-state and that of the state-nation. There is a conceptual coherence between nation-state, liberal democracy, majoritarianism, assimilationist strategies, and a unitary state or territorial federalism. By contrast, the state-nation path of nation-building entails inclusive democracy, consociational government, the accommodation of ethnic diversity, and identity-based federalism. For Nepal, the key question was whether the project of state restructuring underway since 2006 should follow the principle of the nation-state or that of the state-nation, or rather be something else entirely. This book, written by a scholar who had a ringside view and who knows all the participants well, tracks the history of the clash between these two contrasting visions during the critical transitional period when the Constitution was being prepared (2008–2015) and in the immediate aftermath when it was being put into practice. It analyses the forces supporting both visions and explains the ultimate victory of one side over the other.

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The Federalism Debate in Nepal

June 18, 2017.

This volume, published by UNDP's Support to Participatory Constitution Building in Nepal, is solely dedicated to federalism, as it was undoubtedly the major contentious issue that ultimately led to the demise of the first Constituent Assembly without producing a new constitution. The issue remains the same as for the second Constituent Assembly – how to divide Nepal into federal units and how to share power between the centre and the federal units.

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Nepal’s Constitution and Federalism: Vision and Implementation

After over sixty years of political struggles, including armed conflict, Nepal succeeded in promulgating its new constitution through an elected Constituent Assembly in September 2015—the seventh constitution in as many decades. The constitution restructured Nepal into a federal republic, moving away from constitutional monarchy and a unitary system of governance, bringing hopes for economic empowerment, social transformation, and inclusive society.

Five years since the promulgation of the Constitution, the five articles in this book attempt to reflect on the current status of the constitution implementation process, challenges, and ways forward. Hon. Subash Chandra Nembang, chairperson of the Constituent Assembly, provides background to the history of constitution writing in Nepal and underlines why this constitution is different from all earlier ones. Hon. Radheshyam Adhikari, the main opposition party leader in the National Assembly today, gives an overview of the state of implementation of the constitution—the challenges and ways to possible solutions. Hon. Laxman Lal Karna, a senior lawyer and a leader of the Janata Samajbadi Party, provides context as to where the constitution has shortcomings and underlines the need for amendments “to strengthen the supreme law of the land.” Constituent Assembly Member Mahalaxmi Upadhyay Dina, who has a long history of contributions in the struggle for women’s rights, writes about where women’s rights stand with regards to the constitution and how its implementation can be made more inclusive for women. In the fifth article, Dr. Somlal Subedi, a former chief secretary of the Government of Nepal, writes with an administrator’s perspective about how state restructuring could be made more efficient.

• Nepali version

The State of Federalism in Nepal

• The State of Federalism in Nepal Download

Introduction

This report has two main purposes: first, to thoroughly examine how well federalism has been implemented in Nepal, how much federalism reforms have improved Nepal’s governance, and what directions federalism might take in the future; second, to evaluate the Center for International Private Enterprise’s (CIPE’s) and other stakeholders’ work in supporting Nepal’s ongoing governance reform and to conduct an analysis to inform CIPE’s future strategy in and engagement with Nepal.

This report covers the most important aspects of federalism in Nepal, including its current state and future trajectory, costs and benefits, and (in)effectiveness in curbing corruption and addressing challenges in governance and public service delivery. This report is unique because it draws heavily on the perspectives of stakeholders: those participating in and supporting federal reforms in Nepal, those objecting to the reforms, and analysts examining the impact of the reforms. Thus, we draw on state and non-state actors involved in implementing and analyzing these critical reforms throughout this report.

Although this report focuses primarily on domestic determinants of the state of federalism in Nepal, it also pays some attention to foreign influences on domestic political and economic dynamics. This angle is vital because Nepal is a small, landlocked country, which makes it heavily dependent on its much larger neighbors, India and China, for trade and resources, among many other things.

Given Nepal’s short journey toward federalism since the promulgation of the new constitution in 2015, the boundaries of state powers are still not clearly delineated between the federal, provincial, and local governments, and tensions among the three have increased with the ongoing subnational governance reform.

Published Date: November 04, 2022

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Federalism in Nepal – The Federal System of Government in Nepal

Get here a post about the Federal System of Government in Nepal. We have posted some information, facts about the Federal System of Government in Nepal. This system is new for South Asian country Nepal. There are many challenges and opportunities in the federal system of governance in Nepal.

We can’t ignore the federal system of governance in Nepal challenges and opportunities. Do You know why is federal system felt necessary in Nepal? This post may help you with my question “why is the federal system felt necessary in Nepal?”

The Federal System of Government in Nepal

Nepal is a landlocked sovereign country located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the North by the People’s Republic of China, and to the South, East and West by the Republic of India. It occupies an area of 1,47,181 Sq. Km.

It is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of bio-diversity due to its unique geographical position and altitude variation. Our country ranges from 60m above the sea level to the highest point on earth Mt. Everest at 8,848 meters.

There are broadly two concepts of the system of government: Unitary & Federal. Nepal practiced the unitary system of government throughout its recorded history. However, it has been felt that it was not effective for the development and unity of the country. This was visibly expressed by the people during the People’s Movement-II in 2062/63 BS.

The course of history got changed in 2063 BS. People raised voices for a federal system of government. Nepal was then declared as the Democratic Federal Republic by the Interim Constitution-2063 BS. Now, we are in the process of making a ‘New Nepal’ on the federal concept.

See: about 7 provinces of Nepal 

We elected a ‘Constituent Assembly’ to write a new constitution on this concept on 28 th Chaitra 2064 BS. But it was failed due to various reasons in its mission and got dissolved after four years. The election for the Constituent Assembly-II was successfully conducted on 4 th Marga 2070 BS.

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One hundred and twenty-two (122) political parties participated in this election, and 30 of them got representation in the Constituent Assembly-II. This Constituent Assembly has owned the fundamental concepts adopted by the Constituent Assembly-I and is working to promulgate a new constitution of Nepal .

There is a necessity of a federal system in Nepal. The necessity of federal system in Nepal is clean and clear. The unitary system of government has been practiced in Nepal for a long time. Balance and proportional development through the concept of regional development have been a major effort under the unitary system.

But we can’t ignore the importance of the federal system in Nepal. But, this effort has been confined only in the blue print. We will, of course, get advantages of federalism in Nepal. We must consider more about resource allocation in federalism in Nepal.

Poverty, regional imbalance and unemployment still remained a major problem in the country. Therefore, federalism was raised as a political agenda against the unitary system after the success of people’s movement II, 2062/063.

The second amendment of the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063 endorsed the concern of Nepalese people through different political parties to make Nepal a federal country. The first meeting of the first Constituent Assembly, which was held on 15 th Jestha 2065 declared Nepal as “Federal Democratic Republic Country”.

However, the Constituent Assembly (Jestha 2065-2069) could not settle the various issues regarding the determination of federal units in Nepal. So, the federal system is not yet implemented in Nepal.

SEE Also: essay on federalism in Nepal and its future

What is the federal system?

The federal system is a political system where a country is divided into different autonomous states or provinces. Each state or province has a separate government along with its federal government in the center. Generally, there are three administrative units under the federal system. They are the central government, state government, and local bodies.

Features of Federal (Central) Government

• Foreign affairs
• National monetary policy
• National security and military management
• The national highway, railway, postal service
• Big hydropower, multi-provincial project

Features of Provincial (State) Government

• Formulate state policies and laws
• Mobilize state security force and maintain public security
• Carry out local development activities
• Construct development infrastructures
• Preserve language, art, culture and other heritage

In the USA, the state government is responsible for the affairs related to the state including education and health. The central or the federal government is responsible for the external defense, national monitor policies, foreign affairs, and military mobilization.

In the federal system, when the state government is found to be ineffective and unsuccessful or when the national emergency is declared, the federal government controls and directs the respective states until another appropriate arrangement is made.

See: List of 7 States in Nepal

The concept of federalism in Nepal is born some years ago but now Nepal is on the way of the concept of federalism in Nepal. Although there are some challenges of the federal system in Nepal and Nepali is ready to face the challenges of the federal system in Nepal. But after facing the challenges of the federal system in Nepal, We will get benefits of the federal system in Nepal. pal.

NeAt present about 28 countries of the world is having the federal system. This system is in practice in India, the USA, Canada, Belgium, Spain, Australia, Ethiopia, South Africa, etc. In this system, states are formed on the basis of geographical structure, race, and language, population, natural and human resources, etc.

Why is the federal system felt necessary in Nepal?

There are many causes of the necessity of a federal system in Nepal. We have pointed out some points about the necessity of the federal system in Nepal. Know about Why is federal system felt necessary in Nepal?

1. The structure of Nepalese society is of multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural. The state did not address this diversity in time and the expectation of people increased in such a way that their expectations could be fulfilled only in the federal system.

2. For healthy, sound competitive and proportional development of all the nooks and corners of the country.

3. Development regions were created for decentralization but powers, authority and development activities were centralized in the capital. The development has not reached every nook and corner of the country.

4. The unitary system had failed to mobilize the resources for balanced and justifiable development.

Advantages or Good Aspects of the Federal System in Nepal

No political system is perfect in itself. Every political system has its good and bad aspects. Some good aspects of the federal system are:

⇒ Maintains close relation between the state and its people. ⇒ Conflict may settle at the local level. ⇒ Maximum use of means and resources. ⇒ Does not hamper the country even if the central government is dissolved. ⇒ No need to depend on the center for everything. ⇒ Increment of public participation in government activities. ⇒ Accelerate development activities. ⇒ Local and ethnic art, culture and heritage can be well protected.

⇒ Helps to maintain balanced population distribution. ⇒ Rapid and harmonious development in a nation ⇒ Smooth and effective running of the administration ⇒ Sustainable utilization of means and resources ⇒ Decentralization of power ⇒ Less burden to the central government in administrative affairs ⇒ Equal representation of people in the development and other works ⇒ Concept of self-reliance develops and dependency on others is discouraged ⇒ Maximum participation of people in development and decision making.

Demerits of Federalism

⇒ Unhealthy and unnecessary competition may take place between the provinces for development. ⇒ Overlapping of work between the provinces. ⇒ The country may divide or split. ⇒ Expensive form of government

Challenging Aspects of the Federal System in Nepal

Besides the good aspects of the federal system it may create some problems and challenges, like:

⇒ Unequal distribution of means and resources between the states may cause unequal development and misunderstanding among the states.

⇒ There may be a conflict between the states regarding the use of natural resources of border areas.

⇒ The Federal system of government is more expensive so that there may be a lack of sufficient budget for its successful operation. ⇒ There may be a misunderstanding between the federal government and the provincial government regarding the sharing of power and authorities.

⇒ The provinces may demand a different and a separate state which can threaten the national integrity and indivisibility of the nation

⇒ The cultural and ethnic diversity can cause a challenge regarding the state language and maintain equal recognition to all cultural groups.

The Major Difference in the federal government and State government

The basic functions and criteria are different from each other between central and provincial governments in federalism.

In this way, there is always a check and balance on the activities of the central government and provincial governments. Though the provincial governments are autonomous, they are controlled by the provision of law. State restructuring is a process of political re-imagination of the state as per the changed circumstances.

In this process, there can be a readjustment in the internal political division of the nation, devolution of power to the local bodies a°d state can be more ‘  democratic and inclusive with special arrangements to who is left behind.

Facts into Consideration in Federalism

While dividing Nepal into federal units, various aspects need to be kept under consideration. First, it should recognize the capacity and resources available in the country. Whether a nation can afford such a system or not should be given due value. Second, the total number of provinces should be fixed scientifically, not as a whim. Next, the naming process of the provinces should be done on the three bases (without disintegrating the unity):

(i) geographical identity or resources,

(ii) ethnicity or caste, and

(iii) the mixed form of both.

All in all, the strength and recognition of the nation and citizen should not be ignored at any cost.

We all know that our present constitution promulgated on 3 Asoj, 2072 has adopted federalism and republicanism. Federalism is a dual government system in which there are parallel governments at the national level and local level. The constitution has highly encouraged decentralization of power and public participation. Actually, the Constitution has provided for three levels of government. They are as follows:

1. Federal government:

This is the national level government situated in the capital of the country i.e. Kathmandu. It consists of the national legislature, executive, and judiciary. The President is the head of the state and the Prime Minister is the head of the government i.e. the executive. According to the Constitution, there are two houses in the federal legislature; the House of Representative (lower house) and the National Assembly (upper house). The Supreme Court is the judicial organ of the federal government.

2. Regional government:

In addition to the national government in the capital, there is an autonomous provincial government in each of the provincial states. The executive there is headed by the Chief Minister. Each state has its own legislature and judiciary (high court), too.

3. Local governments:

There are also governments at a local level of village/town and district. According to the new constitution, the executive power of local levels is vested in village executive (guan Palika) and municipal executive (Nagar Palika).

They have the power to direct, control and conduct the governance system of village and town level respectively. There is also village/town assembly that works as the local legislature of village/town. In addition, there is a legislative body in each district. It is called the District Assembly.

District Assembly

According to the Constitution of Nepal, there is a District Assembly in each district. It consists of the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of all village executives (guan Palika) as well as the Mayors and Deputy Mayors of all municipalities within the concerned district. Th e first meeting of the District Assembly is held within 30 days after the publication of final results of the elections of the Village Assemblies and Town Assemblies.

District Coordination Committee

Similarly, there is a District Coordination Committee in every district. It consists of a Chairman, a Vice Chairman and maximum of 9 members including at least 3 women and a Dalit or minority citizen elected by the District Assembly. It performs all the tasks that are to be carried out from the side of the District Assembly.

The powers and functions of the District Assembly are as follows.

• To coordinate among the village governments (guan Palika) and municipal governments (Nagar Palika) within the district
• To monitor the development and construction activities in order to maintain a balance in them
• To coordinate between the federal and provincial offices within the district and the village governments (guan Palika) and municipal governments (Nagar Palika)
• To carry out other functions according to the laws of the provincial states

Any member of a Village Assembly or a Town Assembly will be eligible for the post of the Chairman, Vice Chairman or member of the District Coordination Committee of the concerned district. Once elected to any of the posts, he/she will automatically lose his/her post in the Village Assembly or Town Assembly. The tenure of the Chairman, Vice Chairman and members of a District Coordination Committee will be 5 years from the date of appointment.

Powers of the Local Levels

The powers of the local levels (village/town governments as well as district-level governments) as stated by the Constitution are as follows,

• Town police
• Cooperative organizations
• Operation of FM radios
• Local taxes (property tax, house rent tax, service tax, land revenues, etc.)
• Management of local services
• Collection of local statistics and records
• Development of plans and projects of local levels
• Basic and secondary education
• Basic health and sanitation
• Management of local market, environmental conservation, and biodiversity
• Local roads, village roads, agricultural roads, and irrigation
• Management of village assembly, town assembly, district assembly, local courts reconciliation and mediation
• Management of local records
• Distribution of land and house ownership certificates
• Agriculture and animal husbandry, management of agro-products, animal health, and cooperatives
• Management of senior citizens, disabled and the weak
• Collection of the statistics of the unemployed
• Management, operation, and control of the agricultural expansion
• Drinking water, micro-hydro projects, alternative energy
• Disaster management
• Conservation of watersheds, wildlife, and mines as well as minerals
• Preservation and development of language, culture and fine art

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Article Writer: Ram Hari Poudel, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal

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What Next for Nepal’s Transitional Justice Process?

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Nepal’s legislature finally approved long-awaited changes to the transitional justice law. Do the benefits outweigh the flaws?

Eighteen years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Nepal’s major political parties were able to ink a four-point agreement to resolve the critical issues of Nepal’s transitional justice process. On August 7, the Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), and Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center), signed an agreement that would move forward the long-pending transitional justice process, which had been stalled owing to political differences and disagreements among conflict victims. 

As a result, Nepal’s federal parliament endorsed the transitional justice law on August 14, thus paving the way for addressing the issues of human rights violations and abuses committed by both sides during the ten-year-long conflict between 1996 and 2006. Some 17,000 people were killed in Nepal’s civil war and nearly 1,400 are still listed as missing.  

The upper house unanimously passed the transitional justice bill on August 22.  The bill was then forwarded for authentication from the president, which occurred on August 29. Now the bill will come into force upon being formally published in the Nepal Gazette.

The new law will lead to new appointments to Nepal’s two transitional justice bodies, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons, which were formed nearly a decade ago. These commissions have had no leadership for the past two years and have over 65,000 pending complaints from conflict victims and their families awaiting justice.

The new agreement on Nepal’s transitional justice process has been welcomed and supported by the international community. The United Nations’ Human Rights Chief Volker Turk praised Nepal as “a regional and global example of a successful peaceful transition towards democratic, constitutional, and federal governance.”

However, not everyone is pleased.

Prior to the upper house passing the bill, dozens of victims staged a sit-in protest in the capital asking for necessary amendments before it was endorsed by the National Assembly. Victim groups as well as civil society and human rights organizations say there were few formal consultations held with them prior to the agreement between the political parties. As a result, critics say the current bill lacks a victim-centric approach. Parts of the law are also being accused of being perpetrator friendly, thus safeguarding them from accountability for serious crimes committed during the war.  

A recent joint statement issued by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) called the new law a “flawed step forward.” The groups pointed out “serious shortcomings” and implementation challenges that could hinder the success of Nepal’s transitional justice law. According to these rights organizations, despite some positive provisions, “accountability gaps” will pose major challenges. 

What’s Contentious in the Transitional Justice Bill?

Rights advocates, victim groups, and some civil society organizations have pointed out a couple of loopholes in the new transitional justice law. The changes, which represent the third amendment of an existing law, divided crimes committed during the conflict era into “violations of human rights” or “serious violation of human rights.” The bill says that offenses defined as human rights violations could be granted amnesty while “serious violations of human rights” could be referred for prosecution in a special court. “Rape or serious sexual violence,” “intentional or arbitrary killing,” “enforced disappearance, provided that the victim’s whereabouts remain unknown,” and “inhuman or cruel torture” are all listed as “serious violations of human rights.” 

This very categorization of rights violations “serious” or (implicitly) “not so serious” – and torture as either “inhumane or cruel” or (again implicitly) not – is a flawed concept. Any violation of human rights or torture of any kind is a grave matter in itself.

Another provision that reduces sentences by 75 percent in cases except for rape or serious sexual violence has also invited criticism. According to this provision, the perpetrator is subject to a reduction in sentencing provided that certain criteria – such as disclosing the truth, making an apology to the victims, or paying compensation – are fulfilled. 

This provision could support amnesty in camouflaged form. Reduction of an offender’s sentence should be determined based on a thorough investigation of the facts and submissions by the parties to the proceeding. 

Also, as per the new law all disqualified Maoist combatants along with the families of security personnel who died or were injured during the insurgency, will get reparations and compensation. But the bill is mum on issues specific to child soldiers. Out of 4,008 Maoist combatants who did not qualify for integration in the Nepali Army, 2,973 were identified as minors.

Accountability and Trust at the Core of Implementation

The survivors of the decade-long war and the families of victims have now been awaiting justice for almost two decades. Some still feel the pain of physical and psychological injuries, some are in desperate need of compensation, and some are also struggling to know the truth about their loved ones. All are waiting to see perpetrators brought to the books of justice.

The endorsement of the bill is now at least expected to provide some respite to the victims and their families, and also provide a logical end to Nepal’s peace process. However, its successful implementation is contingent upon many factors. 

From the very beginning, Nepal’s transitional justice process has largely failed to develop political consensus and garner the trust of the victims. Victim groups have constantly complained that the transitional justice process is arbitrary and has not fully safeguarded their security and confidentiality while lodging complaints. The dissent expressed by the victim groups this time too does not indicate a completely rosy picture. Ensuring confidentiality and security yet again remains at the core of its implementation.

Nepal’s transitional justice system also has a history of inordinate delays and indifference in providing justice to the victims, which has led to citizen’s “fatigue” with the process. The process has also faced overt manipulation from the political parties for personal and political advantage, which has again eroded the trust toward the two commissions. 

Both the commissions have repeatedly underperformed and there is no guarantee that the next commissioners will be devoid of political influence. If a non-partisan and transparent process is not adopted while appointing the new heads of these two bodies, the long struggle of conflict victims and their families might again be submerged beneath political motives. 

Will Nepal’s New Truth and Reconciliation Bill Promote Justice or Impunity?

By anupa aryal and ojaswi k.c.

Nepal’s Transitional Justice Process Runs the Risk of Failing

By kamal dev bhattarai.

Transitional Justice in Nepal: More Frustrations and Delay

By hugh whelan.

Nepal’s Sisyphean Struggle for Justice

By peter gill.

Captured Myanmar Soldier: Army Joined Hands With ARSA Against Arakan Army Advance

By rajeev bhattacharyya.

China Rejects the ‘San Francisco System’

By kawashima shin.

A New Bangladesh Is Emerging But It Needs India Too

By muqtedar khan and umme salma tarin.

By Aleksander Lust

By Victor Gaetan

By Bryanna Entwistle

By Kunwar Khuldune Shahid

By Haeyoon Kim

• Threads of Transformation: India's Textile Industry Weaving a Modern Future
• Redefining Governance: India's Path to Administrative Reforms
• Beyond Metros: The Ascent Of India's Tier 2 and TIer 3 Cities
• Climate Change Negotiations (CCNs): From Rio (1992) to Dubai (2023)
• Changing Dynamics of Family Structure in India
• India's Creative Economy: From Imagination to Innovation
• India Abroad: Legacy of Indian Diaspora
• Social Identities and Structural Transformation in India
• Investment Ecosystem in India
• Digital Inclusion in India: Building a Connected and Empowered Nation
• Weekly Focus

Latest Edition

• Monthly Magazine
• Economic Survey
• Quarterly Revision Documents
• Year End Review of Ministries
• Previous Year Questions
• The Planet Vision
• Weekly Focus: In Conversation
• Simplified by VisionIAS
• Personality in Focus
• Schemes in Focus
• Polity & Governance International Relations Economics (Indian Economy) Economics (Macroeconomics) Security Environment Social Issues Science & Technology Art & Culture Ethics Schemes In News Places In News Appendix

Table of Content

• 1.1 Special Packages
• 1.2 Auditing of Local Bodies
• 1.3 Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
• 1.4 Constitution of India And France
• 1.5 Election of Prime Minister in Nepal
• 1.5.1 Why in the News?
• 1.5.2 More about the News
• 1.5.3 Constitutional Similarities Between India and Nepal
• 1.5.4 Reasons for Political instability in Nepal
• 1.6 News in Shorts
• 2.1 Instability In India’s Neighbourhood
• 2.2 International Humanitarian Law
• 2.4 India-Russia Relations
• 2.5 India-United Kingdom Relations
• 2.6 India-Pacific Islands Nations Relations
• 2.7 Western Indian Ocean
• 2.8 News in Shorts
• 3.1 Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)
• 3.2 Angel Tax
• 3.3 Gig Economy
• 3.4 Transshipment Port
• 3.5 India's Structural Transformation
• 3.6 Space Economy
• 3.7 E-Mobility
• 3.8 City Gas Distribution (CGD) Network
• 3.9 Coal Sector in India
• 4.1 Sustainable Development Goals
• 4.2 News in Shorts
• 5.1 Terrorism in J&K
• 5.2 National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS)
• 5.3 Security of Indian Dignitaries
• 5.4 News in Shorts
• 6.1 High Seas Treaty
• 6.2 Urban Development and Disaster Resilience
• 6.3 Landslides
• 6.4 International Solar Alliance (ISA)
• 6.5 Great Indian Bustard
• 6.6 Soil Health
• 6.7 News in Shorts
• 7.1 India's Sports Ecosystem
• 7.2 News in Shorts
• 8.1 Genetically Modified (GM) Crops
• 8.2 National Green Hydrogen Mission
• 8.3 Facial Recognition Technology
• 8.4 India’s Ballistic Missile Defence Program
• 8.5 News in Shorts
• 9.1 Assam’s Charaideo Moidam
• 9.2 Pilgrim Corridor Projects
• 9.3 News in Shorts
• 10.1 Balancing Work and Leisure
• 10.2 Public Infrastructure and Public Service Delivery
• 10.3 Conflict of Interest of Public Officials
• 10.4 Ethics of Online Gaming
• 11.1 Smart City Mission
• 13.1 Appendix

Election of Prime Minister in Nepal

Posted 22 Aug 2024

Updated 29 Aug 2024

Why in the News?

Recently, Shri K. P. Sharma Oli was sworn in as Nepal’s Prime Minister  for the fourth time to lead a new coalition government.  

More about the News

• Since the monarchy's abolition in 2008, Nepal has experienced 14 governments, highlighting its instability.
• Unlike Quasi-Federal republic of India, Nepal's 2015 constitution established it as a federal democratic republic.  However, Constitution of both the countries have many similar features. 

Constitutional Similarities Between India and Nepal

• Secular State: Both protect religious freedom. 
• Fundamental Rights:  Comprehensive fundamental rights, including socio-economic rights to the Citizens. 
• Bicameral Parliament:  The executive branch is accountable to the legislature.
• Head of the Government: The President is the ceremonial head , while the Prime Minister is the real head of government. 
• Affirmative Action: Includes provisions for marginalized groups to promote inclusivity.
• Other Features:  Every adult citizen has the right to vote, multi-party-political system, constitutional supremacy and an independent judiciary, with the Supreme Court as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution. 

Reasons for Political instability in Nepal

• Multiparty system: Many parties representing different ethnic, regional, and ideological interests, make it hard for any single party to secure a majority, leading to fragile coalition governments.
• PR  not only ensures broader representation and inclusivity , but it also contributes to the proliferation of smaller parties which  may hold significant sway in coalition governments , leading to instability. 
• Sometimes, it becomes more complicated when the size of the Council of Ministers is fixed.
• India-Nepal
• Bicameral Parliament

INDIA-NEPAL RELATIONS

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U.S. Relations With Nepal

Bilateral Relations Fact Sheet

Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs

July 28, 2022

More information about Nepal is available on the  Nepal Page  and from other Department of State publications and other sources listed at the end of this fact sheet.

U.S.-NEPAL RELATIONS

The United States recognized Nepal in 1947, and the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1948. Bilateral relations are friendly, and U.S. policy objectives center on helping Nepal build a peaceful, prosperous, resilient, and democratic society. Primary U.S. objectives in Nepal include: strengthening good governance, democratic values, and security and stability; supporting inclusive, equitable economic growth and a clean, resilient energy future; and helping Nepal become more self-reliant, independent, and resilient as it confronts global challenges.

The United States enjoys a strong and positive relationship with Nepal. Years of diplomacy and development engagement have advanced U.S. interests as Nepal evolved into a more peaceful, stable democracy with significant economic potential. Since the end of its 10-year civil war in 2006 Nepal has successfully transitioned into a constitutional federal republic grounded in the constitution promulgated in 2015.

U.S. Assistance to Nepal

Officials from Nepal and the United States meet regularly at the highest diplomatic levels to discuss a variety of issues including: assistance provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the largest bilateral donor in Nepal; Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) coordination and implementation; trade (including technical assistance); security and defense cooperation; and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

To support Nepal’s sustainable, inclusive economic development, the MCC signed, in 2017, a $500 million Compact with Nepal to expand Nepal’s electricity transmission infrastructure and improve its road maintenance regime. The Nepali government has committed another $197 million for a program total of $697 million, which is the largest up-front partner country contribution in MCC’s history. The Compact will build 300 kilometers (km) of high-voltage electric transmission lines, three substations, perform enhanced road maintenance on the strategic roads network highways, and provide technical assistance to the national electric utility, the new electricity regulator, and various agencies and institutions focused on road maintenance. The Compact will play a key role in supporting Nepal to utilize its vast hydropower resources, both expanding clean electricity access domestically and for export to India and the broader region. The beginning of the Nepal Compact’s implementation is from August 30, 2023.

Over the past five years, the U.S. Department of State and USAID have committed $643 million in assistance. Through this assistance, USAID is advancing the U.S.-Nepal partnership to reinforce democratic systems, foster broad-based economic growth, strengthen health and education systems, and improve the management of natural resources. USAID’s work in Nepal supports these objectives by promoting transparency and inclusive governance; supporting smart investment policies, regulations and practices; and advancing the sustainable management of natural resources. USAID’s efforts support Nepal’s continued development into a self-reliant and resilient partner with the aim of bolstering the security and economic prosperity of both the United States and the region. USAID remains the leading international donor agency in health and education in Nepal, creating a healthier population through strengthening Nepal Government’s health systems and improving access to and quality of primary education for students nationwide.

U.S. assistance, primarily implemented through USAID, to support reconstruction in Nepal after the devastating 2015 earthquake, is near completion. The United States has provided over $190 million for earthquake relief, recovery, and reconstruction. With USAID support, the Government of Nepal has disbursed $1.3 billion to 749,000 households. Seven years after the earthquake, 90% of eligible homeowners have started or completed the reconstruction of their homes. Although significant recovery needs remain, the United States, to date, has built 37 schools and hospitals; has directly helped rebuild over 48,000 earthquake safe homes; trained 23,000 construction professionals in earthquake resilient construction; and developed policies, systems, and controls to ensure that $8.6 billion in reconstruction results in safer structures for all. In addition to rebuilding a safer Nepal, we empowered the National Reconstruction Authority to develop and implement a strategic communications plan to rapidly notify earthquake-affected populations in the event of another disaster. USAID also partners with Nepal to implement its new disaster management law and helped established the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Authority.

The United States remains committed to building Nepal’s resilience in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and emerging global food security crisis. As of June 2022, the U.S. has provided 8.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Nepal in response to the pandemic. As part of the USG commitment to a more resilient Nepal, USAID partners with local governments and the private sector to strengthen agricultural and economic systems to address food insecurity, especially in light of the global fallout from the Ukraine conflict with Russia. We also continue to support Nepal as it introduces federalism by working with newly elected local governments to implement their own disaster management plans—thus helping local authorities meet commitments made to their constituencies. These efforts will help Nepal improve access to and delivery of quality public services for the country’s underserved communities.

The United States has also committed security assistance to Nepal, working with the Nepali Army to strengthen their peacekeeping and disaster response capabilities.

Bilateral Economic Relations

The United States and Nepal have signed a trade and investment framework agreement, providing a forum for bilateral talks to enhance trade and investment, discuss specific trade issues, and promote more comprehensive trade agreements between the two countries. In 2016, Nepal became one of few countries in the world with a single-country trade preference program with the United States. Principal U.S. exports to Nepal include some agricultural products, aircraft parts, optical and medical instruments and machinery. In 2021, U.S. exports also included significant amounts of vaccines, face masks, and also coal. U.S. imports from Nepal include carpets, felt products, dog food, handicrafts, jewelry and various apparels. Total bilateral trade is in the range of $300 million annually, making the U.S. among the top half dozen trade partners of Nepal. With $52.4 million worth of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock in Nepal as of July 2020 (3.1 percent of total FDI), the U.S. is among the top 10 foreign investors in Nepal. The U.S. Embassy aims to support Nepal’s economic development by providing technical assistance (TA) where possible, including through specialized USG agencies such as the USPTO and USTDA. The Embassy is also supporting the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) increase its portfolio of investments in Nepal.

Nepal’s Membership in International Organizations

Nepal and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.

Bilateral Representation

Principal embassy officials are listed in the Department’s Key Officers List .

Nepal maintains an embassy in the United States at 2730 34th Pl NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel: 202-667-4550).

More information about Nepal is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here:

CIA World Factbook Nepal Page  U.S. Embassy USAID Nepal Page  History of U.S. Relations With Nepal Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Countries Page  U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics  Library of Congress Country Studies  Travel Information Millennium Challenge Corporation: Nepal 

U.S. Department of State

The lessons of 1989: freedom and our future.

Samantha Putterman, PolitiFact Samantha Putterman, PolitiFact

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• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-warnings-from-democrats-about-project-2025-and-donald-trump

Fact-checking warnings from Democrats about Project 2025 and Donald Trump

This fact check originally appeared on PolitiFact .

Project 2025 has a starring role in this week’s Democratic National Convention.

And it was front and center on Night 1.

WATCH: Hauling large copy of Project 2025, Michigan state Sen. McMorrow speaks at 2024 DNC

“This is Project 2025,” Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, said as she laid a hardbound copy of the 900-page document on the lectern. “Over the next four nights, you are going to hear a lot about what is in this 900-page document. Why? Because this is the Republican blueprint for a second Trump term.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has warned Americans about “Trump’s Project 2025” agenda — even though former President Donald Trump doesn’t claim the conservative presidential transition document.

“Donald Trump wants to take our country backward,” Harris said July 23 in Milwaukee. “He and his extreme Project 2025 agenda will weaken the middle class. Like, we know we got to take this seriously, and can you believe they put that thing in writing?”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, has joined in on the talking point.

“Don’t believe (Trump) when he’s playing dumb about this Project 2025. He knows exactly what it’ll do,” Walz said Aug. 9 in Glendale, Arizona.

Trump’s campaign has worked to build distance from the project, which the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, led with contributions from dozens of conservative groups.

Much of the plan calls for extensive executive-branch overhauls and draws on both long-standing conservative principles, such as tax cuts, and more recent culture war issues. It lays out recommendations for disbanding the Commerce and Education departments, eliminating certain climate protections and consolidating more power to the president.

Project 2025 offers a sweeping vision for a Republican-led executive branch, and some of its policies mirror Trump’s 2024 agenda, But Harris and her presidential campaign have at times gone too far in describing what the project calls for and how closely the plans overlap with Trump’s campaign.

PolitiFact researched Harris’ warnings about how the plan would affect reproductive rights, federal entitlement programs and education, just as we did for President Joe Biden’s Project 2025 rhetoric. Here’s what the project does and doesn’t call for, and how it squares with Trump’s positions.

Are Trump and Project 2025 connected?

To distance himself from Project 2025 amid the Democratic attacks, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he “knows nothing” about it and has “no idea” who is in charge of it. (CNN identified at least 140 former advisers from the Trump administration who have been involved.)

The Heritage Foundation sought contributions from more than 100 conservative organizations for its policy vision for the next Republican presidency, which was published in 2023.

Project 2025 is now winding down some of its policy operations, and director Paul Dans, a former Trump administration official, is stepping down, The Washington Post reported July 30. Trump campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita denounced the document.

WATCH: A look at the Project 2025 plan to reshape government and Trump’s links to its authors

However, Project 2025 contributors include a number of high-ranking officials from Trump’s first administration, including former White House adviser Peter Navarro and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

A recently released recording of Russell Vought, a Project 2025 author and the former director of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, showed Vought saying Trump’s “very supportive of what we do.” He said Trump was only distancing himself because Democrats were making a bogeyman out of the document.

Project 2025 wouldn’t ban abortion outright, but would curtail access

The Harris campaign shared a graphic on X that claimed “Trump’s Project 2025 plan for workers” would “go after birth control and ban abortion nationwide.”

The plan doesn’t call to ban abortion nationwide, though its recommendations could curtail some contraceptives and limit abortion access.

What’s known about Trump’s abortion agenda neither lines up with Harris’ description nor Project 2025’s wish list.

Project 2025 says the Department of Health and Human Services Department should “return to being known as the Department of Life by explicitly rejecting the notion that abortion is health care.”

It recommends that the Food and Drug Administration reverse its 2000 approval of mifepristone, the first pill taken in a two-drug regimen for a medication abortion. Medication is the most common form of abortion in the U.S. — accounting for around 63 percent in 2023.

If mifepristone were to remain approved, Project 2025 recommends new rules, such as cutting its use from 10 weeks into pregnancy to seven. It would have to be provided to patients in person — part of the group’s efforts to limit access to the drug by mail. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge to mifepristone’s FDA approval over procedural grounds.

WATCH: Trump’s plans for health care and reproductive rights if he returns to White House The manual also calls for the Justice Department to enforce the 1873 Comstock Act on mifepristone, which bans the mailing of “obscene” materials. Abortion access supporters fear that a strict interpretation of the law could go further to ban mailing the materials used in procedural abortions, such as surgical instruments and equipment.

The plan proposes withholding federal money from states that don’t report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention how many abortions take place within their borders. The plan also would prohibit abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid funds. It also calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that the training of medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, omits abortion training.

The document says some forms of emergency contraception — particularly Ella, a pill that can be taken within five days of unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy — should be excluded from no-cost coverage. The Affordable Care Act requires most private health insurers to cover recommended preventive services, which involves a range of birth control methods, including emergency contraception.

Trump has recently said states should decide abortion regulations and that he wouldn’t block access to contraceptives. Trump said during his June 27 debate with Biden that he wouldn’t ban mifepristone after the Supreme Court “approved” it. But the court rejected the lawsuit based on standing, not the case’s merits. He has not weighed in on the Comstock Act or said whether he supports it being used to block abortion medication, or other kinds of abortions.

Project 2025 doesn’t call for cutting Social Security, but proposes some changes to Medicare

“When you read (Project 2025),” Harris told a crowd July 23 in Wisconsin, “you will see, Donald Trump intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.”

The Project 2025 document does not call for Social Security cuts. None of its 10 references to Social Security addresses plans for cutting the program.

Harris also misleads about Trump’s Social Security views.

In his earlier campaigns and before he was a politician, Trump said about a half-dozen times that he’s open to major overhauls of Social Security, including cuts and privatization. More recently, in a March 2024 CNBC interview, Trump said of entitlement programs such as Social Security, “There’s a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting.” However, he quickly walked that statement back, and his CNBC comment stands at odds with essentially everything else Trump has said during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump’s campaign website says that not “a single penny” should be cut from Social Security. We rated Harris’ claim that Trump intends to cut Social Security Mostly False.

Project 2025 does propose changes to Medicare, including making Medicare Advantage, the private insurance offering in Medicare, the “default” enrollment option. Unlike Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans have provider networks and can also require prior authorization, meaning that the plan can approve or deny certain services. Original Medicare plans don’t have prior authorization requirements.

The manual also calls for repealing health policies enacted under Biden, such as the Inflation Reduction Act. The law enabled Medicare to negotiate with drugmakers for the first time in history, and recently resulted in an agreement with drug companies to lower the prices of 10 expensive prescriptions for Medicare enrollees.

Trump, however, has said repeatedly during the 2024 presidential campaign that he will not cut Medicare.

Project 2025 would eliminate the Education Department, which Trump supports

The Harris campaign said Project 2025 would “eliminate the U.S. Department of Education” — and that’s accurate. Project 2025 says federal education policy “should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.” The plan scales back the federal government’s role in education policy and devolves the functions that remain to other agencies.

Aside from eliminating the department, the project also proposes scrapping the Biden administration’s Title IX revision, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It also would let states opt out of federal education programs and calls for passing a federal parents’ bill of rights similar to ones passed in some Republican-led state legislatures.

Republicans, including Trump, have pledged to close the department, which gained its status in 1979 within Democratic President Jimmy Carter’s presidential Cabinet.

In one of his Agenda 47 policy videos, Trump promised to close the department and “to send all education work and needs back to the states.” Eliminating the department would have to go through Congress.

What Project 2025, Trump would do on overtime pay

In the graphic, the Harris campaign says Project 2025 allows “employers to stop paying workers for overtime work.”

The plan doesn’t call for banning overtime wages. It recommends changes to some Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, regulations and to overtime rules. Some changes, if enacted, could result in some people losing overtime protections, experts told us.

The document proposes that the Labor Department maintain an overtime threshold “that does not punish businesses in lower-cost regions (e.g., the southeast United States).” This threshold is the amount of money executive, administrative or professional employees need to make for an employer to exempt them from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In 2019, the Trump’s administration finalized a rule that expanded overtime pay eligibility to most salaried workers earning less than about $35,568, which it said made about 1.3 million more workers eligible for overtime pay. The Trump-era threshold is high enough to cover most line workers in lower-cost regions, Project 2025 said.

The Biden administration raised that threshold to $43,888 beginning July 1, and that will rise to $58,656 on Jan. 1, 2025. That would grant overtime eligibility to about 4 million workers, the Labor Department said.

It’s unclear how many workers Project 2025’s proposal to return to the Trump-era overtime threshold in some parts of the country would affect, but experts said some would presumably lose the right to overtime wages.

Other overtime proposals in Project 2025’s plan include allowing some workers to choose to accumulate paid time off instead of overtime pay, or to work more hours in one week and fewer in the next, rather than receive overtime.

Trump’s past with overtime pay is complicated. In 2016, the Obama administration said it would raise the overtime to salaried workers earning less than $47,476 a year, about double the exemption level set in 2004 of $23,660 a year.

But when a judge blocked the Obama rule, the Trump administration didn’t challenge the court ruling. Instead it set its own overtime threshold, which raised the amount, but by less than Obama.

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Harvard’s Institute of Politics Announces Fall 2024 Resident Fellows

Introduction

CAMBRIDGE, MA - The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School today announced the appointment of six Resident Fellows who will join the IOP for the Fall 2024 semester. The fellows bring diverse experience in politics, elected office, polling, journalism, and economic development to address the challenges facing our country and world today.

"We are thrilled to welcome this Fall's cohort of Resident Fellows to Harvard to engage and collaborate with our students and community, and to get their thoughts and insight in the final few months of this year's historic election. Their diverse experiences will no doubt inspire our students to consider careers in public service and prepare them to provide essential political leadership in the months and years ahead," said IOP Director Setti Warren .

"We are excited to have such a remarkable group of Fellows at the IOP this Fall. They bring varied perspectives on how to best approach some of our country's most consequential challenges, and I am confident our students will gain important insight into the fields of politics, civic engagement, journalism, and more," said Michael Nutter , Chair of the Institute of Politics' Senior Advisory Committee, and former Mayor of Philadelphia.

"We are thrilled to welcome the incredibly accomplished members of the 2024 Fall Fellows Cohort as we begin the fall semester prior to the incredibly important U.S. election. As we close out the 'biggest election year in history,' our world remains in the throes of a major period of democratic backsliding. American voters, including many Harvard students, will once again face the possibility of reactionary backsliding and threats to fundamental rights. Closer to home, we are keenly aware of the threats to free speech on campus. While this semester will bring renewed challenges to and debates concerning those fundamental rights, we are hopeful that study groups will remain a source of vibrant, productive, and gratifying discussions on Harvard's campus. In that spirit, this semester's cohort of Fellows will bring in critical perspectives from the varied worlds of governing, policymaking, polling, reporting, and campaigning to equip students with the tools necessary to create a better tomorrow. We are confident that this cohort of Fellows will help this program to remain a bastion of freedom of speech and civil discourse on Harvard's campus," said Éamon ÓCearúil ‘25 and Summer Tan ‘26 , Co-Chairs of the Fellows and Study Groups Program at the Institute of Politics.

IOP Resident Fellows are fully engaged with the Harvard community. They reside on campus, mentor a cohort of undergraduate students, hold weekly office hours, and lead an eight-week, not-for-credit study group based on their experience and expertise.

Fall 2024 Resident Fellows:

• Betsy Ankney: Former Campaign Manager, Nikki Haley for President
• John Anzalone: One of the nation's top pollsters and strategists, and founder of Impact Research, a public opinion research and consulting firm
• Alejandra Y. Castillo: Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development
• Asa Hutchinson: Former Governor of Arkansas and 2024 Presidential Candidate
• Brett Rosenberg: Former Director for Strategic Planning, National Security Council and Deputy Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, Department of State
• Eugene Scott: Host at Axios Live, and former reporter who has spent two decades covering politics at the local, national and international level, including at the Washington Post and CNN

Brief bios and quotes can be found below. Headshots are available upon request.

Betsy Ankney Ankney is a political strategist with over 15 years of experience on tough campaigns. She has been involved in campaigns and Super PACs at the national and state level and played a role in some of the biggest upsets in Republican politics. She has been an advisor to Ambassador Nikki Haley since 2021, serving as Executive Director for Stand for America PAC and most recently as Campaign Manager for Nikki Haley for President. After starting with zero dollars in the bank and 2% in the polls, the campaign defied the odds, raised $80 million, and Nikki Haley emerged as the strongest challenger to Donald Trump. Ankney served as the Political Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 2020 cycle. She advised senate campaigns across the country, working directly with candidates and their campaigns on budgets, messaging, and fundraising. Prior to her work at the NRSC, Ankney managed multiple statewide campaigns, including Bruce Rauner for Governor in Illinois and Ron Johnson for Senate in Wisconsin. For her work on Ron Johnson’s race, she was named “Campaign Manager of the Year” by the American Association of Political Consultants for 2016. Ankney got her start in politics at the 2008 Republican National Convention and served in various roles at the Republican National Committee as well as on multiple campaigns and outside efforts. She serves on the boards of The Campaign School at Yale and The American Association of Political Consultants. She is from Toledo, Ohio and attended Vanderbilt University.

"I am honored to be a part of the fantastic program at the Harvard Institute of Politics. As we enter the final stretch of one of the wildest and most unpredictable election cycles in modern history, I look forward to having conversations in real time about our political process, what to look for, and why it matters." – Betsy Ankney

John Anzalone Anzalone is one of the nation’s top pollsters and messaging strategists. He has spent decades working on some of the toughest political campaigns in modern history and helping private-sector clients navigate complex challenges. He has polled for the past four presidential races, most recently serving as chief pollster for President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. In that role, he helped develop the messaging and strategy that drove paid communications, major policy rollouts, speeches, and convention thematics. He has also polled for the campaigns of President Obama and Hillary Clinton, and has helped elect U.S. senators, governors, and dozens of members of Congress. Anzalone works with governors across the country, including current Governors Gretchen Whitmer (MI) and Roy Cooper (NC). He polls regularly for the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Senate Majority PAC, and AARP. With more than 30 years of experience in message development and strategic execution, he has been called on by key decision-makers, executives, and CEOs to provide counsel in a changing world and marketplace. He has extensive experience using research and data to break down complex subjects into digestible messages that resonate with target audiences. He grew up in St. Joseph, Michigan, and graduated from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is married and has four children, two dogs, and lives in Watercolor, Florida.

"After a 40-year career in politics I am so excited to give back by sharing and mentoring politically active and curious students, but also to have an opportunity to learn from them myself. During the next three months we will be living the 2024 elections together in real time. There is nothing more exciting than that regardless of your political identity." – John Anzalone

Alejandra Y. Castillo The Honorable Alejandra Y. Castillo was nominated by President Biden and sworn in as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development on August 13, 2021, becoming the first women of color to hold this position. Ms. Castillo led the Economic Development Administration (EDA) between August 2021-2024 through an unprecedented moment of growth and opportunity. As the only federal agency focused exclusively on economic development, she guided EDA’s the implementation of over $6.8 billion dollars in federal funding, powering EDA and its mission to make transformational placed-based investments to support inclusive and equitable economic growth across America. Spanning over two decades of public service and non-profit work, she has served in three Presidential administrations --Biden, Obama and Clinton. Her career has also included a drive to shattering glass ceilings and providing inspiration to multiple generations of diverse leaders. Castillo is an active member in various civic and professional organizations, including the Hispanic National Bar Association, the American Constitution Society, as well as the Council on Foreign Relations. Castillo holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook; a M.A. in Public Policy from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin; and a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law. A native of Queens, NY., the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic.

"I am excited to join this Fall semester IOP Fellowship class and have the opportunity to engage with students and faculty members across the University. The IOP fellowship presents a great forum to discuss and evaluate the future of U.S. industrial strategy and economic growth in light of the historic federal investments in place-based economic development during the last three years. I am honored to join my colleagues in making this an exciting and informative semester for students." – Alejandra Y. Castillo

Asa Hutchinson Governor Asa Hutchinson is a former Republican candidate for President of the United States. He served as the 46th Governor of the State of Arkansas and in his last election, he was re-elected with 65 percent of the vote, having received more votes than any other Republican candidate for governor in the State’s history. As a candidate for President, Hutchinson distinguished himself as an advocate for balancing the federal budget, energy production and enhanced border security. He also was a clear voice for the GOP to move away from the leadership of Donald Trump. Hutchinson’s time as governor is distinguished by his success in securing over $700 million per year in tax cuts, safeguarding the retirement pay of veterans from state income tax, shrinking the size of state government, creating over 100,000 new jobs and leading a national initiative to increase computer science education. The Governor’s career in public service began when President Ronald Reagan appointed him as the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation for the Western District of Arkansas. In 1996, he won the first of three consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his third term in Congress, President George W. Bush appointed Governor Hutchinson to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and later as the nation’s first Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Border Protection. He is a former Chairman of the National Governors. He grew up on a small farm near Gravette. He and his wife, Susan, have four children and seven grandchildren. Governor Hutchinson is currently CEO of Hutchinson Group LLC, a security consulting firm.

"After 8 years as Governor it is time to teach and mentor. I am honored to have the opportunity this fall to share my experiences and perspective but to also learn from the students and my colleagues who will also be resident fellows at the IOP. The timing is historic with our democracy facing a critical choice this fall as to the direction of our country." – Asa Hutchinson

Brett Rosenberg Rosenberg is a foreign policy expert who has served in the White House, Department of State, and Senate. During the Biden Administration, Rosenberg was the inaugural Deputy Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, President Biden’s and the G7’s flagship program designed to meet infrastructure needs in low- and middle-income countries. At the White House, Rosenberg served on the National Security Council as Director for Strategic Planning, working on shaping and realizing approaches to issues spanning from international economics to Western Hemisphere engagement, as well as helping to write the National Security Strategy. Prior to her service in the Biden administration, Rosenberg was Associate Director of Policy for National Security Action, where she remains a senior advisor. Rosenberg began her career in Washington as a legislative aide to then-Senator Kamala Harris, where she advised the senator on a range of domestic and economic policy issues. Rosenberg is a Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and her writing has appeared in outlets including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, and McSweeneys. She received her A.B. in History from Harvard College and her PhD (DPhil) in International Relations from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

"What a privilege it is to be part of this incredible community in this incredible moment. I can't wait to learn from the students, faculty, and other fellows as we dive in together to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and the world." – Brett Rosenberg

Eugene Scott Eugene Scott is a host at Axios Live, where he travels the country interviewing political and policy leaders. He was previously a senior political reporter for Axios covering 2024 swing voters and voting rights. An award-winning journalist, Scott has spent two decades covering politics at the local, national and international levels. He was recently a national political reporter at The Washington Post focused on identity politics and the 2022 midterm election. Following the 2020 presidential election, he hosted “The Next Four Years,” then Amazon’s top original podcast. He also contributed to “FOUR HUNDRED SOULS: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019,” which topped the New York Times’ bestseller list. In addition to writing, Scott has regularly provided political analysis on MSNBC, CBS and NPR. Scott was a Washington Correspondent for CNN Politics during the 2016 election. And he began his newspaper career at the Cape Argus in Cape Town, South Africa not long after beginning his journalism career with BET News’ “Teen Summit.” Scott received his master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and his bachelor’s from the University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media. He is a D.C. native and continues to live in the Nation’s Capital.

"Learning from and with the professionals that visited the IOP during my time on campus was one of the highlights of my time at the Kennedy School. I am eager to help lead students in understanding the press and this country as we navigate the final weeks of arguably the most consequential election of our time." – Eugene Scott

Additional information can be found here .

About the Institute of Politics Fellows Program The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School was established in 1966 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. The Institute’s mission is to unite and engage students, particularly undergraduates, with academics, politicians, activists, and policymakers on a non-partisan basis to inspire them to pursue pathways in politics and public service. The Institute blends the academic with practical politics and offers students the opportunity to engage in current events and to acquire skills and perspectives that will assist in their postgraduate pathways.

The Fellows Program has stood as the cornerstone of the IOP, encouraging student interest in public service and increasing the interaction between the academic and political communities. Through the Fellows Program, the Institute aims to provide students with the opportunity to learn from experienced public servants, the space to engage in civil discourse, and the chance to acquire a more holistic and pragmatic view of our political world.

For more information on the fellowship program, including a full list of former fellows, visit: iop.harvard.edu  

Press Releases

Could Donald Trump Break the Fed?

The former president wants to put an end to the central bank’s independence. If he’s elected in November, Republicans in Congress might let him.

Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (NOA) using AI narration.

Mainstream economists hold sacred the notion that central banks must be shielded from political influence. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s fundamental job is to set interest rates at the optimal level to keep employment high and inflation low. This often requires inflicting short-term pain—such as steeper borrowing costs or temporarily higher unemployment—to avoid even more disastrous outcomes in the long term. Elected officials, the thinking goes, don’t have that kind of patience. With an eye on the next election, they’re liable to keep rates artificially low to juice the economy today at the risk of sending prices spiraling tomorrow. In the worst-case scenarios, such as in contemporary Venezuela, politicians might order the bank to print money to fund spending, leading to hyperinflation.

Central-bank independence is not sacred to Donald Trump. During his four years in the White House, he tried and failed to bend the Federal Reserve to his will. He apparently hasn’t given up on the idea. A few weeks ago, he told reporters that he “strongly” felt that presidents should have “at least a say” over the central bank’s policy decisions—shattering a modern taboo against presidential involvement in Fed policy making.

Trump later tried to walk back that comment in an interview with Bloomberg , but his long track record leaves little room to doubt his real views. His first effort to usurp the Fed’s independence ran aground when the Senate narrowly refused to confirm a slate of his preferred yes-men to lead the institution. A second Trump presidency, however, would very likely be accompanied by a more accommodating Republican Senate majority. If Trump wins in November, we may learn the hard way just how important Fed independence was all along.

The Fed has a few built-in institutional features designed to protect its autonomy. The seven members of its board of governors are appointed by the president, but each receives a 14-year term. The all-important interest-rate-setting committee includes both the board of governors and a rotating cast of regional Federal Reserve bank presidents, who are each selected by representatives of their local business community and civic groups rather than by the White House.

Even with those safeguards in place, presidents have tried to meddle. Lyndon Johnson once shoved Fed Chair William McChesney Martin up against a wall during a particularly heated argument over monetary policy. Ronald Reagan publicly groused about some of Paul Volcker’s moves, and once summoned him to a private meeting where Chief of Staff James Baker ordered the chair not to raise rates prior to the 1984 election. (Volcker wrote in his memoir that he wasn’t planning to anyway.) George H. W. Bush called on Alan Greenspan to lower rates in a New York Times interview. Most notoriously, Richard Nixon successfully pressured Fed Chair Arthur Burns to loosen up the money supply in the lead-up to Nixon’s 1972 reelection campaign, helping fan that decade’s inflation.

Rogé Karma: The Federal Reserve’s little secret

Bill Clinton ushered in an era of heightened deference to the Fed. Under the encouragement of economic advisers, including Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Clinton adopted the policy that presidents shouldn’t even comment about the central bank’s decisions. George W. Bush and Barack Obama largely followed the same standard.

Trump jettisoned it. Starting in 2018, when the Fed began raising rates to the still historically low level of 2.4 percent, he waged a one-sided public feud with the central bank unlike any seen before. He accused Fed officials of “going wild” and “loco” with interest-rate hikes, which he blamed for slowing growth and tanking stocks. He tweeted that Jerome Powell, whom he had appointed as Fed chair, was an “enemy” of America on par with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and reportedly mused in private about trying to fire him.

Trump’s first round of Fed nominations had consisted of relatively moderate, mainline Republicans out of central casting. As his anger at Powell grew, he changed tack and began trying to push through transparently partisan loyalists. He first floated Herman Cain, the Trump campaign surrogate and former presidential candidate known for his gimmicky 9-9-9 tax plan. Cain eventually withdrew from consideration in the face of opposition from Republican senators after the press resurfaced a long history of sexual-misconduct allegations against him. Next came Stephen Moore, the supply-side economics maven and Trump adviser, who suddenly began echoing the president’s calls for rate cuts after having spent years calling for tighter policies under Obama. Republicans seemed largely comfortable with Moore’s qualifications, but his nomination collapsed thanks to his long history of publishing sexist jokes, as well as problems with his taxes and child-support payments.

Finally, there was Judy Shelton, another longtime supply-side think-tanker known for holding fringe positions including support of the gold standard and opposition to federal deposit insurance. Shelton had also long called for tighter money before changing her tune and advocating for aggressive rate cuts under Trump (sometimes during interviews conducted from his hotel in Washington). She eventually seemed to say the quiet part out loud in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that argued the Fed should “pursue a more coordinated relationship with both Congress and the president.”

Economists reacted in abject horror to Shelton’s nomination; more than 100 of them, including seven Nobel laureates, signed an open letter opposing her selection, in which they accused her of calling “for subordination of the Fed’s policies to the White House—at least as long as the White House is occupied by a president who agrees with her political views.”

Shelton’s bid was defeated—but only by a razor-thin vote that required then-Senator Kamala Harris to make a last-minute train ride back to Washington. Among Shelton’s supporters were John Kennedy of Louisiana and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota: Republican senators who generally pay lip service to the importance of Fed independence. One of her three Republican opponents, Utah Senator Mitt Romney, is retiring after the current Congress. If Republicans retake the Senate this election, it will be with an even more MAGA-friendly class of lawmakers, and Trump will have an easier time appointing a loyal partisan.

Fed governors by law can only be removed “for cause,” and there are just two vacancies scheduled on the board of governors by the end of 2028. One of those, however, is Powell; selecting his replacement would give Trump the chance to put his stamp on the institution. The Fed chair is the public face of the board and exercises enormous soft power over its decision making. And more vacancies could very well arise. It is extremely rare for Fed governors to serve their full term; the median stint is a mere five years. With a few early retirements, Trump could have an opportunity to substantially reshape the character of the central bank.

As Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, put it to me: “You appoint one nutcase, you can get around it. You appoint more than one, and you appoint them to the top jobs, then that’s different.”

A small- d democratic case can be made against Fed independence. Voters tend to hold the president responsible for the economy, and interest rates are the closest thing that the economy has to a steering wheel. The idea of handing that wheel to an insulated, technocratic institution like the Fed and leaving the president to take the blame for any failures strikes some as fundamentally unjust. It “is actually true that a weird, secretive, and unaccountable institution runs our society,” the left-leaning antitrust crusader Matt Stoller wrote last year in The American Prospect . The Republican vice-presidential nominee, J. D. Vance, made his own version of that case recently as he defended his running mate’s comments.

“President Trump is saying something that’s really important and actually profound,” he told CNN . “You have so many bureaucrats making so many important decisions. If the American people don’t like our interest-rate policy, they should elect somebody different to change that policy. Nothing should be above democratic debate in this country.”

David A. Graham: The fakest populism you ever saw

That’s a reasonably coherent philosophical argument for giving presidents more hands-on control of monetary decisions, even if the result might be worse policy. But if Trump were to start appointing partisan yes-men, the risk isn’t just that they’d keep rates low to appease him. It’s that those same picks might also try to weaponize policy to undermine a future Democratic president. And in a polarized political environment, even genuine policy disagreements could be interpreted as political gamesmanship that would chip away the market’s faith in the Fed’s ability to manage the economy soundly.

It would also create a dangerous precedent. Even if Trump can appoint only one or two loyalists to the Fed, his doing so would break the norm that monetary policy should be something of a nonpartisan exercise and set the stage for both parties to try to install more reliable lackeys in the future. In that sense, even just one nutcase might matter quite a bit.

Support for this project was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

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House Price Index U.S. House Price Index Report - 2024Q2

U.S. house prices rose  5.7 percent  between the second quarter of 2023 and the second quarter of 2024, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (FHFA HPI®).  House prices were up  0.9 percent  compared to the first quarter of 2024.  FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for June was down  0.1 percent  from May.

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