Political Culture Key To Governance

Among several things that unavoidably affect human life are the economy, politics, and culture. Whereas the economy is indispensable to humankind’s survival, politics is essential to maintaining peace and order within a nation-state. By the same token, culture is an inextricable part of community life. As they are as essential to life as breathing is to it, there is no escaping them. Wherever we go, we find ourselves surrounded by the constraints of economy, politics, and culture. Thus, they become forces that impact us in various aspects of life. Many people are ignorant of this fact, so they cannot manage these forces to the utmost benefit of their lives.

Just as there is an interplay of the economy and politics, so there is also an interplay of politics and culture. If politics derails, then the culture degrades. On the other hand, if culture decays, then politics also goes awry. In this sense, politics is broadly shaped by culture. Previously, politics did not operate through the formal government system. Tribes and communities managed interpersonal relations and social affairs through their rudimentary rules.  Customs, traditions, norms, and values were the rules that governed the respective communities. 

Governance system

As society evolved, it required a systematic government, either elected or ruled by decree. Obviously, an elected government was democratic, but an autocratic ruler declared themselves as king with supreme power or assumed any other title of their choice. In a modern state, there are three essential components of government: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. A well-balanced relation between the three constitutes a successful government. The lack of checks and balances between them leads to the failure of the entire governance system. 

The world has undergone many vicissitudes in its political and cultural life. There have been many events of individual murder and mass killing to overthrow the ruler from power. The changes of government through an undemocratic practice are instances we have witnessed for generations. Autocracies are undesirable; democracies are desirable. The practice of politics in which government is forcibly overthrown cannot be called a sound political culture by any means. Instead, this is the worst form of governance system practiced in many parts of the world. There is no denying that culture is desirable; counterculture is undesirable. 

Nepal, as elsewhere, has also undergone several non-political practices in history. Bhimsen Thapa was victimized under the Shah dynasty. Mathavarsingh Thapa was murdered by his own kinsman for the sordid gain of politics. The murder of Ranodip Singh by his biological siblings can be taken as the worst example of malpractice in Nepali politics. It has been a matter of debate whether King Mahendra’s forcible move to overthrow the democratically elected government in 1960 was part of a political culture. If a direct rule sans people’s consent prevails with no bloodshed, it can be called a political practice, albeit autocratic. 

On the other hand, if the democratically elected ruler becomes a tyrant and fails to heed the people’s grievances, it cannot be called a political culture. In this sense, political culture is not simply a matter of whether it is practiced in an autocracy or a democracy; rather, it is a matter of whether the formation of government is valid and justifiable or invalid and unjustifiable. 

The recent political turmoil in Nepal remains chaotic to this date. Ripples in the political pond have gone far and wide; they have not yet returned to the regular rhythm. While the incumbent Prime Minister is set to hold elections on the stipulated date, the erstwhile prime minister has come out onto the streets vehemently demanding the reinstatement of the House of Representatives. There have been arguments for and against the formation of an interim government and the dissolution of the House.  Most of their arguments are marked by double standards, so they lack valid, genuine, and sound reasoning.  A double standard is a practice of making statements and behaving in ways that are controversial. It is vice in sound political culture, where virtue is expected to prevail. 

Debate 

There is no debate about whether democracy is a bad form of government. But a fierce battle has been underway between the two warring groups over the government formation process in Nepal. While some argue that the function of government is to cater to the people’s needs, no matter how the government is formed, others counterargue that the government formed through an undemocratic and unconstitutional process is unacceptable. The latter’s argument goes further: if government executives are allegedly corrupt, they should be put on trial and, if found guilty, put in prison, but they cannot be manhandled in an uncivilized way. The arguments from both sides seem valid, but neither can be a genuine, sound argument if put in the wrong way. If one is true, the other must be false in a given context, as two mutually exclusive things cannot exist together. 

Two remedies can be suggested at this juncture. First, any debate must be initiated within the established norms and values that constitute political culture. Those norms and values are unquestionably democratic, so we need to follow them unconditionally. Second, either side in the debate should wait for the Supreme Court's verdict on the reinstatement of the House. To put it explicitly, the youths should not pressure the incumbent government to arrest the erstwhile government executives and put them in prison unless a lawful body recommends it with adequate evidence. Likewise, any political actor should not launch a protest program until the Supreme Court verdict is announced. It looks like both parties are violating the norms that promote a non-political culture, thereby posing a threat to a sound governance system in a country like ours. It is never wise to put the hard-earned achievements at stake for a transient cause. 

(The author is the chairman of Molung Foundation. bhupadhamala@gmail.com)