NEPAL: CHANGING POLITICAL ECONOMY

Nepal's political economy has been in the process of changing ever since the establishment of a unified kingdom on November 12, 1769, following the unification drive by the King of Garkha, Prithivi Narayan Shah. Although Nepal has never been colonized, her political economy has been largely influenced by changes in neighboring countries. Monarchs ruled the country from 1770 to 1845. At that point, Jung Bahadur Rana, taking full advantage of the ongoing conspiratorial politics in the king's palaces, decimated his foes and established himself as the Prime Minister of the country and turned the powerful king into titular head of state from 1846 to 1950. After a brief experiment of open and competitive politics following the 1950 revolution, the country fell back into a rule of absolutism from 1960 to 1990, then finally reverted to a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system in 1990 following the Jana Andolan (People's Movement).