Federal Restructuring Research Articles

Development of urban infrastructure through land-based financing: A case of Bharatpur metropolitan city (Residential area)

Municipalities in Nepal has been seen as a driving force for development, especially after the federal restructuring of the country. Constitution of Nepal, 2015 and the Local Government Operation Act, 2017 have authorized the local government to increase their revenue base from a wide range of sources including the urban land resources to make them financially resourceful for the urban development financing. In this context, land-based financing is seen as a potential source for financing urban infrastructure development in residential areas which lack adequate and decent physical infrastructure. The advantages of infrastructure projects are capitalized on land values which contributes to the land-based finance instruments to pay for infrastructural development. The purpose of this research was to explore how Bharatpur Metropolitan City might fund the construction of urban infrastructure through land-based financing in the residential area lacking adequate and decent infrastructure. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to collect and analysis of existing municipal land-based revenue, land valuation, property registration fees of the case study area, Krishnapur Land Pooling project area, of Ward no 7 of Bharatpur metropolitan city. Building upon the analysis of the capital gain from land value increment and residents’ willingness to pay land-based taxes and users fees in the case study area, the study finds land-based-tax system was limitedly integrated into the land-use zoning and the land value increment. This has resulted in the disparities of tax rates and tax coverages. This study recommends further study to to replace the Housing and Land Tax with Integrated Property Tax system and reform policies related to “property valuation” based on added calculations according to land-use zoning, land use and resident’s willingness to pay as a means to reinforce municipal revenue to increase infrastructure financing in residential areas.

Quest for Identity: Re-Examining the Process of Federal Restructuring of the Nepali State

The agenda of restructuring the state has been the most deliberated issue for all intellectuals, political leaders and civil society activists in Nepal. The restructuring of Nepali state became a central component of the 2006 peace deal. Federalism was, however, included in the interim constitution as a binding principle for the Constituent Assembly on the verge of violent protests in the Tarai in 2007. The fundamental question during the Maoist insurgency remained whether federalism based on ethnic affiliation will be materialized. But after the Madhesh mutiny, the question that dominated the public discourse was whether “ethnic federalism” can be materialized as a mean to achieve more inclusive, institutionalized and sustainable democratic polity in Nepal. This article re-examines the process of federal restructuring of Nepali State on the backdrop of contemporary politics of identity.

The Material Politics of Citizenship: Struggles over Resources, Authority and Belonging in the New Federal Republic of Nepal

Examining the boundaries of state–society–citizen–environment after the federal restructuring in Nepal, we ask how do people claim authority or citizenship rights? We theorise state power through the socio-environmental state framework as a set of socio-natural relations in the making, formed by struggles over authority, recognition and environment. Using qualitative data from Barpak, the epicentre of the 2015 earthquake, we capture the politics of natural resource governance that (re)emerged during earthquake reconstruction and local-level elections, illustrating how control over resources is negotiated, disputed, and inscribed in law (land titles and water sources) and landscapes (water sources, earthquake resettlement area, an open-air museum).

English

Building an inclusively representative and equitable bureaucracies in a multiethnic, multilingual and multicultural polity is a challenging phenomenon. Being one of such polities, Ethiopia embarked upon multinational federal nation-building policy exactly two decades ago through a constitutional reform. Accordingly, nine regional states and two chartered cities bureaucracies were established besides the federal bureaucracy. It is obvious that in addition to professionalism, civil service jobs generally require knowledge of certain official working language. Regions have chosen their own official working languages for their respective civil service institutions which have been reiterated as the major opportunity brought by the multinational federal policy of the country. This paper emphasizes on the bureaucracies of the Federal Government where Amharic is retained as the sole working language. From the outset, we ask questions: How could it be possible to build representative civil service institutions in multilingual polities? What are the roles of federal restructuring and official working language? What are the challenges that Ethiopia is facing at the federal level in terms of building a representative bureaucracy? This piece uses government reports of five years (2003-2008) and other theoretical literature to lay out Ethiopia’s (re)quest for building equitable federal bureaucracies. Overall, the finding show that even though it may be different for political positions; the Amharic monolingual language policy of the federal government has ensured inequitable access to the federal civil service institutions thereby posing challenges to the constitutional vision of building equitable and multicultural bureaucracy. Key words:  Federal bureaucracy, official working language, representation.&nbsp

Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria as a symptom of poverty and political alienation

It is almost three years ago that a group of Northern Nigerian militants that transformed from political brigandage declared a war on the country in the name of islamic jihad. This has claimed thousands of lives and millions naira worth of properties. However, a critical analysis of the mission of the group pointed to the theory of poverty and political alienation. This paper therefore examined the violent rampageous Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria from the perspectives of the current agitation for political power-shift and severe poverty in Northern Nigeria. The research tool for the study was an indepth desk survey of media reports and literature data. The paper therefore recommended a total federal restructuring and massive poverty alleviation programmes to curb Boko Haram violence and other ethno-religious crises in Nigeria.

Federal Restructuring in Ethiopia: Renegotiating Identity and Borders along the Oromo–Somali Ethnic Frontiers

ABSTRACTWhen the Ethiopian state was reorganized as an ethnic federation in the 1990s, both ethnicity and governance experienced the impact of the change. Most importantly, ethnicity became the key instrument regarding entitlement, representation and state organization. For the larger ethnic groups, fitting into the new ethno‐federal structure has been relatively straightforward. In contrast, ethnic federalism has necessitated a renegotiation of identity and of statehood among several smaller communities that straddle larger ethnic groups. It has also led to the reconfiguration of centre–periphery relations. This contribution discusses how the federal restructuring of Ethiopia with the aim of matching ethnic and political boundaries led to renegotiation of identity, statehood and centre–periphery relations among several Somali and Oromo clans that share considerable ethno‐linguistic affinities.

Nepal: Federalism for Lasting Peace

Many studies have been conducted on the causes and consequences of Nepal’s conflict. Given the current peace, proposals on federal restructuring, mostly based on ethnic sub-divisions of the country, are rife. Federal restructuring of the country, it is believed, will be instrumental in power sharing and peace in the long run. It is also believed that federalism will promote inclusive development by granting political autonomy to states (regions) and assuring proportional and fair representation of all ethnic/sub-cultural groups in future governments and other decision-making organs of the state. However, it is not yet clear what kind of federalism this multi-ethnic country will have. Many analysts see federal restructuring of the country as an over-ambitious and challenging task for Nepal. There is also a fear that any hurried decision in this direction may further intensify the underlying conflict and ultimately cause the disintegration of the country. Furthermore, economic issues like revenue and expenditure sharing and resource mobilization are not fully spelled out by the proponents of federalism. This paper suggests an alternative basis for federal restructuring of the nation, which promotes long-term development and sustainable peace. Key words: Nepal, post-conflict reconstruction, federal reconstruction.

Electricity Restructuring in the United States and its Effects on the Nuclear Industry

Electricity restructuring has become a highly visible subject in the US. This article addresses the current state of electricity deregulation in the US and some of the major issues facing regulators, legislators and the nuclear industry.First, the stage is set with a detailed description of FERC Order 888 which sets forth the Federal Restructuring blueprint. Next, there is a look at recent Congressional legislation and the elements common to the many bills (eg, repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act, allowance for stranded cost recovery). A similar analysis of state legislation is provided for a number of key states (eg, use of mandatory rate reductions for residential customers). With this comprehensive background, the paper provides a detailed analysis of the effects of electricity restructuring on the nuclear industry. The key challenge is for the nuclear plants to remain competitive in a deregulated environment. Factors such as fossil fuel costs, NRC regulatory actions (eg, financial qualifications for operations and financial assurance for decommissioning) and transmission grid reliability are discussed in detail.

Federal restructuring legislation: a recipe for successful action

Following this outline of a consensus approach to electricity reform legislation will not guarantee enactment of a bill. But it does provide a path—perhaps the only path—that can result in enactment during the 105th Congress.

A passion for the mundane, and our medical education and threatened teaching hospitals

Teaching hospitals, a critical component of medical education and a provider of indigent care, are in crisis. Competition from our own well-trained graduates practicing in sophisticated community hospitals, the rapid development of managed care, federal restructuring of funding, and erosion of our public economic base are important factors. The failure of teaching hospitals is likely to adversely alter medical education and threaten our professional status as doctors and educators as we compete to survive. The problem is identified, but the clear solution is not. My treatise began with the idea that the public recognizes that their teaching hospitals are in crisis. Yet there is some element of public optimism reflected in a Time magazine article that states, "Whatever happens, no one doubts that teaching hospitals will survive." Although neither government nor medicine are widely respected as organized entities, we do have the best medical care system in the world and the most trusted politicians and doctors on an individual basis. We may or may not be able to improve things substantially, but we must try. In spite of difficulties in the process, we will ultimately live up to Sir Winston Churchill's expectations: "The American people will...do the right thing, but only after they have tried everything else."