New Report Examines Land Disputes in Nepal’s Terai

Land has long been among the most politically contentious issues in Nepal. Since the 1960s, land reform has been an important area of contestation between political parties. This pattern was further visible in the country’s civil conflict between 1996 and 2006, as Maoist insurgents targeted large landowners as a symbol of Nepal’s exclusionary, patronage-based state. Now in the post-conflict period, land reform remains contentious, attracting attention from politicians, academics, NGOs, and advocacy organizations interested in both development and conflict resolution.

Just released is a new report on the dynamics and nature of land disputes, part of an ongoing working papers series from The Asia Foundation’s multi-year collaboration with the London School of Economics’ Justice and Security Research Program to look into the “theories of change” the Foundation uses to underpin its justice and security programs. Authors Danielle Stein, with the London School of Economics’ JSRP, and Bert Suykens, a professor at Ghent University’s Conflict Research Group, shed light on disputes brought to mediation and relay local perspectives on the causes and consequences of these disputes.

Read more about this collaboration, or download the full report, “Land Disputes and Settlement Mechanisms in Nepal’s Terai,” on JSRP’s website.