In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

Nepal has been in a state of transition since 1950. In the ensuing years, a relatively brief, decade-long romance with democracy ended in three decades of single-party, autocratic rule. Since the restoration of multiparty, democratic politics just over 20 years ago, we have had 20 prime ministers…

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Last week, Nepal’s Constituent Assembly (CA) members drafted citizenship provisions in the country’s long-awaited constitution, causing much consternation and almost guaranteeing that approximately 2.1 million persons out of an estimated population of nearly 30 million will remain stateless. The specific draft provision that is deeply problematic and regressive refers to how a child may obtain citizenship by descent in the new Nepal: a child would be granted Nepali citizenship if both mother and father prove they are Nepali citizens.

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The idea of “rule by the people” or democracy is widely accepted as a good and desirable thing these days. Almost half of all governments worldwide are considered democratic in one way or another. But the many paradoxes and problems that afflict democratic experiments…

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On June 12, the UK’s Equalities Minister, Lynne Featherstone, arrived in Kathmandu on a three-day visit to share her experiences in combating violence against women and to learn how Nepal is tackling the issue.

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Around midnight on May 28, 2010, Nepali lawmakers took a stunning last-minute emergency action that served to keep hopes for a democratic constitutional republic and a stable nation alive in Nepal: by an overwhelming majority the Eighth Amendment Bill to the interim constitution to extend the Constituent Assembly’s tenure by one year was passed. Of [...]

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Afghanistan has been through increasingly difficult times in the 12 months since The Asia Foundation conducted its last survey of Afghan public opinion in the summer of 2007. Amidst slow but steady gains in vital basic amenities and services and some successes in reconstruction efforts across the country, the conflict resulted in significantly higher civilian [...]

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On Tuesday, The Asia Foundation released “Afghanistan in 2007: A Survey of the Afghan People,” which covers the largest population sample ever surveyed at one time in all 34 of Afghanistan’s provinces. This survey follows polls conducted by the Foundation in 2004 and 2006. Collectively the three surveys establish an accurate and long-term barometer of [...]

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Achievements in Afghanistan’s political, social, and economic development may prove short-lived if donor, government, and public support for continued progress falter during the next several critical years of transition. The initial stages of transition have been difficult, with both donors and the Afghan government struggling to define their roles and responsibilities for a long-term development [...]

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