ABSTRACT
Democratic Nepal differs only superficially from panchayat Nepal. Despite the hyperbole surrounding the 1990 Revolution there has been no clear break with the past. Instead, democracy has disguised the continued influence of Nepal’s traditional elites and has re-legitimised their power because the inegalitarian social and economic system is now sanctioned through the ballot box. But the new political order has made one crucial difference: under the panchayat regime, the rich and powerful were blamed for preserving a corrupt and unjust system. The structure of power may have remained undisturbed by democracy but it is now a government elected by the people that must bear responsibility for economic stagnation, poverty and inequality.
