News, Views From Nepal

Yuba Nath Lamsal Kautilya is said to be the guru of modern art of diplomacy. A shrewd and sharp politician, Kautilya has many tips for rulers and diplomats, which are still taken as the basis of foreign policy and statecraft. India is one that has followed Kautilya’s tricks and tips in the conduct of foreign policy and diplomacy. Kautilya’s doctrine is taken as a modern day’s realist approach of conducting diplomacy. His approach in the conduct of diplomacy is in stark contrast to the idealist approach. In the realm of realism, the existing factors and powers play a key role in the conduct of diplomacy and art of negotiation. According to Kautilya’s realist approach, money, military and muscle are the key factors in the world of diplomacy and statecraft. But m oney is more powerful than the military. Kautilya has said, “From the strength of the treasury the army is born.” More than realism, Kautilya’s approach is dubbed as the hawkish model that some of the Western powers ...

Yuba Nath Lamsal The largest political party of the country –UCPN-Maoist— is busy in the preparation of what it describes as the historic seventh National Unity Congress. The Maoist seventh national congress is being held in 21 years since the last or the sixth congress was held in 1992. The seventh congress kicks off on February 2, Friday with the theme of further developing the ‘revolutionary political line”, which is expected to come up with the new sets of ideas, policies, programmes and plans. Many have speculated that the seventh national congress of the UCPN-Maoist would mark a unique ideological shift that may declare its official and formal departure from the violent and armed revolution and reiterate its commitment in public for peaceful and competitive politics. But things would not develop in such a simplistic way and the Maoist party may not make a complete U-turn in terms of ideology in the national congress. What is certain that there would definitely be marke...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Recently, the national Congress of the Mohan Vaidya-led CPN-Maoist concluded with its resolve to pursue and advance the revolution, which it claims to have been left in the crossroad by the leadership of the UCPN-Maoist in general and its principal leader Prachanda in particular. The party which was created after the split from the mother party—the UCPN-Maoist—did everything to justify the split. But this new party seems not to have so far been successful in justifying for what it was constituted. Similarly, the seventh national congress of the UCPN-Maoist is going to begin in Hetauda on February 2, 2013, which is also expected to come up with a new policies and programmes of Nepali revolution. The seventh congress of the UCPN-Maoist is being held in 21 years. Thus, the party has described the seventh congress as the historic one. The congress is surely going to be a historic congress because the party is expected to chart out a different course for completi...

Yuba Nath Lamsal North Korea, as it is called Democratic People’s Republic of Korea by Pyongyang, has constantly been on the spotlight of international diplomacy and media. Despite the end of the Cold War in the world, worse Cold War persists in the Korean Peninsula, with danger of war always looming large in the region. Korean peninsula remains the only remnant of the Cold War. Korea continues to remain divided despite long desire of the Koreans living in both the north and south of the 38 th parallel (the boundary between the North and South Korea) for reunification. North Korea is a communist state whereas South Korea, also known as Republic of Korea or ROK, is a capitalist country. With the tearing down of Berlin Wall and unification of Germany, a new enthusiasm and hope had been raised in Korean peninsula regarding reunification of the two Koreas. Once Korea used to be a strong empire with its clout and influence spreading far and wide in the entire East Asia. In t...