Bragtvedt, S: Strategic Firmness - Tactical Flexibility

Nepal was engulfed in a civil war between Maoist guerillas and the state from 1996 to 2006. In 2006 a broad alliance between Maoists, parlamentarian parties and civil society organizations came together to bring down the royal autocracy which seized absolute power one year earlier. The plattform they had agreed upon included the main demand of the Maoists during the civil war, namely an election to a constitutional assembly with the task of writing a new constitution. In return, the Maoists agreed to multiparty political competition. To years later, in April of 2008, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) won the elections in Nepal and became the biggest party, much to everyone‘s surprise. What made this string of events possible? Are we witnessing an historic example of peaceful conflict transformation? Why did the Maoist guerillas join the peace process? This book should be of interst to peace researchers, South-Asia scholars and everyone who is interested in the politics and ideology of South-Asian revolutionaries.