– Prakash Kumar Sah
Since every sovereign state exists and operates within a much larger community of states, it has to relate with other sovereign members of that community. Foreign policy is the primary instrument for the conduct and management of that relationship, and its goal is to protect and promote the national interest of the country. Foreign prestige is a function of home strength. No nation-state that is weak at home, politically or economically, can be strong abroad. Governments that tolerate no freedom at home and does not guarantee the rights of its citizens, does not adequately provide basic and essential needs of life to its citizens, does not protect lives and properties and ensure the development and growth of the domestic economy will not be taken seriously when it preaches abroad. Effective foreign policy depends largely on the stability of the domestic political order, the strength, flexibility and diversification of the national economy, the military might available for use if the situation arises, the level of industrialization of the economy and the quality of political and administrative leadership at home. The conduct of foreign policy must, therefore, pay attention to these domestic factors.
Recent years have witnessed increasing concern among policy makers about weak or fragile states. Today, it is widely accepted that development, peace and stability require effective and strong states that are able to fulfill key international responsibilities and provide core public goods and services as well as security. Nepal has long been a case of interest for the study of political and economic development. Its polity experiences ongoing fragility and its democratic base is rather weak yet it exercises tremendous power and influence in its sub-region, Asia at large and to some extent the global stage.
The foreign policy of every country deals first with the preservation of its independence, sovereignty security and second, with the pursuit and protection of its economic interests. Nepal has continued to play a strategic role in fostering global and continental peace through its foreign policy framework and principles which define Nepal’s relations with other countries. Nepal has over the years designed and adopted series of strategies to safeguard its national interests and to achieve set goals in international relations. These strategies are diverse and range from humanitarian aid, diplomacy, economic actions (such as providing financial assistance to some other countries) (Wikipedia, 2010). Nepal’s foreign policy thrust over the past years anchored on Asian countries, thereby playing the “big brother” role in her international relations posture. In recent times, due to deepening level of globalization and transactional activities, Nepal interacts with non-state actors or non-Asian countries, particularly developing economies. This invariably, has led Nepal to rethinking her foreign policy thrust to accommodate global realities. But, more importantly, this interaction is evaluated and monitored in an attempt to maximize benefits of multilateral international cooperation.
The country had tremendously given both plead for since every sovereign state exists and activates within a much larger community of states, it has to relate with other sovereign members of that community. Foreign policy is the primary instrument for the conduct and management of that relationship, and its goal is to keep and support the national interest of the country. Foreign prestige is a function of home strength. No nation-state that is weak at home, politically or economically, can be strong abroad. Governments that accept no freedom at home and does not guarantee the rights of its citizens, does not adequately provide basic and essential needs of life to its citizens, does not protect lives and properties and ensure the development and growth of the domestic economy will not be taken seriously when it preaches abroad. A useful foreign policy depends largely on the stability of the domestic political order, the strength, resilience and diversification of the national economy, the military might available for use if the situation arises, the level of industrialization of the economy and the quality of political and administrative leadership at home. The conduct of foreign policy must, therefore, pay attention to these familial factors.
Nepal has been represented in bad light due to its unimpressive image and reputation as a corrupt and mishandled economy often blamed on bad governance and leadership. There is the impact and consequences of state weakness on the Nepalese foreign policy status. It shows that Nepal since beginning as a federation has been a easily broken and weak nation, Nepalese foreign policy reputation has been greatly affected by some internal factors that have made the country not to secure a remarkable influence and respect in sub-regional, regional and global ambassadorial relationship despite its wealth and vow in assisting other countries, the weakness of the Nepalese state arises primarily from the incapacity of the state to deliver essential and basic needs to its citizens and the Nepalese state is a victim of high level corruption and bad governance, political instability, ethnic and religious conflicts among others. These challenges have clogged up the route to sustainable development, marked Nepal’s image and caused the diminishment of Nepal’s fame both at home and abroad. It therefore, thinks the Nepalese government should vigorously pursue goals of democracy, good governance and respect for human rights at home to guarantee that its leadership role is credible abroad, Nepal should immediately accumulate image and standing management campaigns in the media and project the achievements and humanitarian efforts of the country, the anti-corruption organization should be pro-active, genuine and advance action in fighting corruption. [email protected]
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