Teaching of international relations in Nepal (1).

Introduction

International relations has been taught in Nepal for over the last 40 years, but has never emerged as an independent discipline on its own. There are a number of factors responsible for this situation, among which include the political conditions in the country, the rather slow growth of the manpower needed to teach the subjects, as well as the poor resource base from which it has had to operate.

It is the contention of this paper that time is now ripe for international relations to stand on its own in Nepal. But to understand the status of teaching of international relations in the country, one needs to first understand how it has grown within the umbrella of political science itself.

Political Science in Nepal

Political Science as an independent discipline was late in emerging in Nepal. During the 104 years Rana rule it was a forbidden subject and had no opportunity to lay its foundation since books on the subject could not even be imported by the ordinary people in the country. This did not however completely prevent the study of politics in general since learning of Eastern philosophical text could not be prevented. Mythological texts contained in the stories of the Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Manusmriti contained a rich supply of political philosophy, while important political works, such as Kautilya's Arthasastra, also provided knowledge of important political treatises. (2)

After the overthrow of the Rana autocracy in 1950-51, political science was introduced in Nepal not as an independent discipline, but as part of civics in matriculation examinations. Even then, teaching on the subject focused mostly on political thought and constitutional development, and only partially on public administration. This was so because, due to the lack of development in the discipline in previous years, colleges in Nepal were affiliated to Patna University, in India, and followed the hand-me-down British models followed by Indian universities.

The system continued till the establishment of Tribhuvan University in 1959, when changes were gradually introduced in the curriculum to suit the national requirements. Intermediate level teaching (lower undergraduate level) focused on civic rights and obligations both at the theoretical and practical levels, with emphasis on the legal system of the country (Mulki Ain) and policies of the Panchayat political system in the country which had been introduced in the early 1960s. At the degree level (upper undergraduate level), public administration courses were introduced with greater focus on modern governments and working of the Nepalese Constitution. The post-graduate level was devoted to advance studies on Nepalese political system and incorporated studies on political system of the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, along with those of neighbouring countries like India, Pakistan and China.

With the introduction of the New Educational Plan in the early 1970s, the educational system was thoroughly overhauled at all levels, including the primary and secondary levels, with new emphasis on also given to vocational training (Sharma 1989). At University level, teaching methods shifted from the hand-me-down British-Indian system to the American semester system. During this period syllabi were further refined to include courses on China and Japan and new attention was given to the study of behavioural and interdisciplinary approaches, while dissertation was introduced for qualified students who obtained 55 percent in the first part of their MA exams. This system continued till 1979-80, when political movement against the Panchayat system suddenly erupted through mobilization of students on colleges and University campuses. The first casualty of the political movement was the educational system as it was the first area in which the authority compromised, as it also agreed on a referendum to decide the fate of the Panchayat political system. Higher education reverted to the earlier annual system from the semester system and courses were restructured in an ad hoc manner without conceptualizing the purposes they were going to serve.

The inextricable link between the political system and the teaching of political science in Nepal, as well as international relations, cannot but be emphasized. Whereas under the Ranas, the teaching of political science was considered to be a non-starter, under the Panchayat system with the King in absolute power it could be done so as long as it was "politically correct". Although it is undeniable that political science as a discipline gradually grew both in the area of teaching and research under the Panchayat period, it is nevertheless debatable whether there truly existed an "environment conducive to academic exercises". A prominent example of this debilitative nexus was the abrupt dismissal in 1975 of a pioneering political science teacher with democratic inclination when he showed sympathy with the cause during students' unrest in the country (Jaiswal 1998).

If there ever was a golden era for the discipline of political science in Nepal it came after the People's Movement in 1990 when the Panchyat system collapsed and democracy was restored in the country. The irony is that it is not that the study of political science developed more systematically within this new political milieu in the heavily laden University bureaucracy in Nepal, (3) but that it found an outlet outside the traditional academic turf. Political freedom under democracy made possible the formation of groups and association which could conduct research and studies without political consideration and with a mind to quality. The availability then of funds from foreign donor agencies for studies on nascent democratic process made it possible to conduct research that were inconceivable before. Although the University authority discourages its manpower going outside the traditional circle for fear of losing its human capital, it has been able to provide neither the resources nor the incentives to utilize the talents of members of its academic community effectively. As one observer has noted, there is a tendency both in the department and the administration of the University to muddle through each and every new challenges instead of meeting them headon with imaginative responses (Dahal 1996:121).

In this environment was thus born Political Science Association of Nepal (POLSAN), which produced seminal works on the 1991 elections in Nepal (POLSAN 1991) and a detailed study on political parties and parliamentary process in the country (POLSAN 1992). Although the group spilt after a couple of years due to personality clashes among its leading figures and closer association of these individuals to different political parties in the country, both groups have nevertheless been able maintain a healthy competition, producing different journals and holding workshops and seminar on topical themes. Other groups, like the Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies (NEFAS) and Nepal Center for Contemporary Studies (NCCS), and older institution like Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), have been able to fill the lacuna left to some extent by the academic community. What is even more interesting is that, although the Department of Political Science in Kirtipur was considered to be the focal point for academic studies, Prithivi Narayan Campus in Pokhara has been more successful in bringing out regularly its Journal of Political Science, whereas the central department with all its high level professors has not been able to continue its own journal, The Nepalese Journal of Political Science, for the past two decades.

Studies in International Relations

International Relations as a field of study in Tribhuvan University exists under the umbrella of the political science department, with all the assets and liability in which the department itself operates. During the early years of affiliation with Patna University, the course structure at intermediate level included international politics which was identical to that of the Indian university. The only modification introduced was that teachers could update the students by introducing recent trends. After Tribhuvan University was established, the subject was included at the post-graduate level and international organization and diplomacy was added as a single subject, with international law as compulsory part of the requirements.

Under the semester system, introduced in the early 1970s, the syllabi for studies in this field became little more intense as well as refined. In addition to the regular course on international politics, another course on advanced international relations was introduced as an option. International organization was offered as a separate optional course, as was the course on foreign policy and diplomacy, which now examined the foreign policies of major powers and neighbouring countries in greater depth. Regional studies were also offered, with one course on South and Southeast Asia and the other on West Asia and Africa. Nepalese studies was also introduced, which focused entirely on Nepal's foreign policy. All these courses were offered in addition to comparative studies of governments of US, UK, USSR, China and Japan. (4)

However, when the Panchayat authorities capitulated after the political movement in 1979-80 and the semester system came to an end, the trend towards greater specialization in international relations was reversed as the annual system of teaching was reintroduced with generalized courses. As a consequence, regional studies were cut down drastically and courses on international organization and diplomacy were merged into a single unit, while course offering on foreign policy of the major powers was discarded. Even the course on advanced international relations was done away with and some of its topics merged haphazardly with the regular course on international politics. Expediency gave way to systematic planning and the muddling through exercise took over until a new curriculum was introduced in 1999 within the traditional annual system of education.

Developing new courses or updating the old ones are not usually done scientifically and are largely based on an "amalgam of previous experiences." (9) The new course structure at the post-graduate level attempts to synthesize the best of what was offered in the semester system with the needs of the annual system. While course structures are updated somewhat in each of the earlier subjects, regional studies is given more emphasis with the addition of Western Europe and Western Hemisphere as separate courses on top those offered earlier. (5) A more prominent change is seen at the graduate level courses which was made from a two-year to a three-year course, with the addition of a second optional course on international relations and inclusion of arms control as part of the course on international law. The most notable is the addition of a new field of study on national security, which is offered only at the Military Campus, in Kharipati, which is also affiliated to Tribhuvan University.

Unlike the impetus which political studies received in Nepal outside the University circle with the restoration of democracy in 1990, there was no similar opportunities for studies in international relations since funding available in the country was mostly, though not always, available in areas of democratic development in Nepal. The high point in the growth of studies on international relations occurred in the 1980s, independent of what political science was then experiencing as a discipline. The development took place not in the area of teaching, but in the area of research which the Center for Nepal and Asian Studies (CNAS) of Tribhuvan University had then committed to undertake under its new Director.

Although CNAS remains the bedrock for quality research in Nepal in such areas as culture, history, linguistic and anthropology, it started branching out into the field of international relations in the late 1970s by recruiting the needed manpower. The Center was, however, able to define its scope and perimeter of work only in the 1980s with clear-cut programmes. For most part of that decade, the Center functioned as "Think Tank" of the country on current international issues through its research studies and topical workshops and seminars. An international seminar was held in 1985 on regional security issues in South Asia, with luminaries from the region (Khatri 1987). The Centre also started a bi-annual journal, entitled Strategic Studies Series, in addition to publication of CNAS Yearbook which provided an overview of political developments in all the SAARC member countries. Discussion programmes on current issues were also held regularly and its proceedings were published in its CNAS Forum. It published Documentation on SAARC for the years 1988, 1990 and 1990-95, cataloguing books and articles published in South Asia relating to regionalism. In addition, the Center also had a manpower development programme that encouraged country specialization in each of the SAARC member countries, in addition to Japan and China. (6)

This promising period in the study of international relations was short lived. When a new Director took over the Center after the People's Movement in 1990, the original focus was lost. Subsequent directors have displayed neither the interest nor the skills necessary to promote international studies at the institution. Since then, most of the original manpower are no longer with the Center and those working at the institution have largely re-diverted their attention more to studies on democratic development in Nepal than on international issues.

Teaching Faculty in Political Science/International Relations

With four universities operating in Nepal in recent years, teaching of political science/international relations is confined to only Tribhuvan University. The University has 114 different campuses throughout the country, out of which political science is taught in 24. Post-graduate level courses in political science is offered today in nine different campuses of the major cities, out of which, aside from Kathmandu, four (Pokhara, Birgunj, Janakpur and Biratnagar) have been teaching the courses at this level for nearly a decade. (7) The expansion in the number of campuses teaching post-graduate level courses have taken place not only due to increasing demands, but largely as a result of pressures from political leaders in their constituency to bring higher level education to their community. As course requirements are uniform throughout the country, this creates some difficulty since there is a dearth of specialized manpower needed to teach the various subjects. There is also discrepancy in the standard of teaching since the Kirtipur Campus is top heavy with senior teaching faculties; while those Campuses outside the capital often have to do with junior teaching staffs or young recruits who have graduated only recently. The problem is further aggravated by the fact that aside from the Central Library in Kirtipur, in Kathmandu, library facility in other cities are hardly adequate to cater to the needs of the academic community.

The Kirtipur Campus, Which is the focal point of Tribhuvan University, epitomizes both the strengths and weaknesses of the teaching standards in political science in Nepal. Currently, there are 19 teachers in the department, out of which nine have doctoral degrees. Out of this total number, there are 10 professors, 7 associate professors and 2 lecturers. Although this represents an impressive work force, there are no supporting mechanisms within the University to provide professional growth of its teaching faculty. Despite the change in syllabi from time to time, teaching often involves regurgitating the same materials with very little emphasis in keeping up with developments on subject matters at the international level. Even the impressive list of PhDs and professors become important only in term of status and job security since only a handful in the department are actually involved in creative research work or professional development of their skills. This becomes a problem not only in further developing the teaching manpower within the country, but also in building the manpower who may be recognized regionally and internationally. This problem is magnified several folds with those involved in teaching and doing research on international relations since, with only four or five people involved in the field, the output and impact becomes even less.

Subject Popularity and Prospects

Despite the growth in the number of qualified teachers in Nepal and the expansion in the number campuses teaching political science/international relations in recent years, there is a relative decline in the quality and quantity of students taking the courses years. (8) In Kirtipur Campus alone, every year more than 200 students are admitted at the post-graduate level, but only 35-40 regular students attend classes during the first year. The number actually dwindles to half that number during the second year of classes. This is quite a contrast to a time in the 1980s when more than 200 students were admitted for the first year course and the group had to be split into two sections to accommodate the students who actually attended the classes regularly. (9) To teachers who have put in decades of service, it is disconcerting to increasingly see student in recent years walking around campus and classes with only a single flimsy notepad for all courses with never any books in hand. The tendency of students to largely rely on lectures notes and cheap books geared towards meeting only examination requirements has sapped the creative potentials of students who are likely to be future national assets in the country.

There are a number of factors that has led to this situation. First, even though a quota of 50 is fixed for admission each year, pressures from student unions within the University and frequent concessions by University authorities and governments to student pressures open the floodgates without regard to the impact it might have on quality education. Second, nominal entrance exams are taken, with almost an assurance that those who appear for the exam will be admitted. There are also no interviews taken in the selections process to choose the most competent applicants. Third, for the past six years, the University has also done away with attendance requirements that used to be somewhat scrupulously adhered to in the past. And, most important of all, in recent years future employment prospects for post-graduate students in political science are no better or worse than in other social science discipline, except for those in sociology and population studies.

Political science once used to boast about the popularity of the subject in Nepal and was one time a training ground for future government officers and administrators in the country. It has produced prime minister, countless ministers and ambassadors, but today with the service sector in the country expanding rapidly and the government receding from its earlier position as the largest employer in Nepal, it is not clear what kind of manpower the discipline is to carter to for the needs of the society. It is not difficult to see that there is a positive correlation between the decline in the popularity of the subject with the output the discipline has to offer to the country. There is, therefore, a need in teaching of political science and international relations to tailor its syllabi which will provide job opportunities to its students through quality education, without sacrificing requirements that the disciplines demands.

Course Contents and Library Facilities

The conscious efforts of political science teachers in the early years to structure courses that reflect the national conditions have been met to some extent. But, the tendency to use models from Indian universities, and sometimes of the other neighbouring countries, is still very strong. This has both positive and negative implications: positive, because it ensures that contents of the national syllabus does not fall below the regional standards; and negative, because it excludes the possibility of learning from other models of education, particularly the Western model, which have been the driving force in this field.

Although courses at the University may not be as up-to-date as those of leading American and British universities, they are nevertheless very broad in content. However, the problem arises in two areas: teaching and access to quality literatures on the subject matter. As there is no mechanism for faculty development in the University to provide refresher courses and further orientation to the teachers, there is always the drawback that the instructors themselves may be behind on the latest trends. Often course contents can sound impressive, but the teaching level may not be at par with which the courses were designed. For instance, such topics as conflict resolution and negotiation would be hard to teach without significant understanding of their theoretical foundation or important cases studies. Even such newly introduced topic at an undergraduate level on national security can be impressive on paper, but not so when it comes to actual teaching since the expertise needed to teach the course may be lacking.

The other problem has to do with access to quality literatures since books and articles on the recommended readings list for the courses may not be available even in the Central Library in the capital. Small libraries in campuses are resource starved and even the Central Library often finds it difficult to order books printed in the West because of the astronomical costs involved.

The same also applies to important journals on international affairs. A rough survey taken by the writer for this paper on the periodical holdings in the Central Library shows only 22 international journals are received today on a regular basis. Out of this number, 12 are received by the University through donations from local embassies or international agencies. The Central Library has impressive collection of Foreign Affairs starting from 1939 to 1980, but with very little regularity after that period. Important journals, such as Foreign Policy and International Security, do not even exist in the Library holdings, while other journals of well repute (Pacific Affairs, International Organization, Annals, China Quarterly, Current History, International Affairs (London), and even India Quarterly) which were available for many years, if not decades, are no longer in the Library's ordering list. The void in publications from strategic studies centers from South Asia alone suggests that it is not only the financial costs that is involved, but rather poor management of the journal section in the Library and equally poor coordination between the department and the Library. The Central Library has within the last couple of years introduced a handful of computers to provide students and teachers access to Internet for research purposes. But, without proper orientation to teachers and students on possibilities available for research in the cyberspace, the gesture so far remains symbolic.

Quality and Quantity of Research in International Relations

As we have seen before, there is a division of labor between teaching and research in political science/international relations between the department and CNAS. During the earlier 1980s when CNAS had a strong section on international studies, many scholars from the department were recruited full time and part time as well to meet the programme requirements. In the short years the Centre was intensely involved in this area, its contribution was widely recognized in the region and a few of the highly recognized regional experts used to also contribute to its journal, Strategic Studies Series. Since the 1990s, however, the Centre has not been able to maintain the same reputation with the sparse publications it has brought out in this field.

In recent years, research output in Nepal has come out more as individual endeavours of scholars than through support from academic institutions. Baral (1990) has led the way with varying publications ranging from regional migration and ethnicity to sub-regional cooperation. (10) Others have specialized on regional cooperation or security issues. (11) Some of them have obtained international recognition by being affiliated in the board of editors in international journals, such as Contemporary South Asia (Oxford University) and South Asian Survey, and also members of the Advisory Board of the Regional Center for Strategic Studies, in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Despite the inconsistency in University policy towards teaching and research of international relations, the trend is increasingly in its favor. Out of a dozen doctoral dissertations given by the University in political science since 1980, at least four have been on international relations, which lags behind study of Nepalese politics and is almost on par with those on public administration. In the last eight years, over 26 percent of masters thesis written by students have been on international relations, out of which a majority have focused on foreign policy issues and others on the UN and such topical themes CTBT or intervention and international law. (12)

Conclusion and Suggestions

There is a strong case to support the establishment of a separate department of international relations in Tribhuvan University, especially after the long period of growth in the womb of the political science department. There is both a demand and a need for the subject, as well as adequate manpower required to teach it at the post-graduate level in Nepal. The idea of establishing an international relations department was once floated in 1991-92, but died easily due the inability of the proponents to sell the idea to the authorities in the University. However, before that can be done, there is need to prepare a conceptual paper outlining not only its objectives, but also the methods by which they could be met.

Till that time comes, there are a number of measures that need to be taken to strengthen the growth of the discipline in Nepal. They include the following:

* There is a need to develop area and theme specialist in international relations with specific area of expertise. The preference for generalist over specialist during the early years in development of political science in Nepal needs to be taken to the next stage by creating manpower who can effectively contribute to specific areas of needs.

* As any other discipline, international relations is not an island by itself, but depends on knowledge sharing with various other fields. Teaching of IR in the University has to go beyond the formalistic classical style of teaching by incorporating inter, disciplinary courses that can draw on current developments and on pertinent global issues such as the impact of WTO on trade, role of international financial institutions, management, population studies, and environmental and human security. For instance, the economics department already has a course on "international economics" and covers the same issues which students of IR also need to study. The same department also has a course on "international finance and economic cooperation" which it has not been able to teach because of the "lack of teachers" to cover the course. (13) It is conceivable that since the later course covers such issues as "regional economic cooperation" which is covered under the study of regional organizations (or "regionaLism") in political science, the two departments could pool their resources to cover the courses together. As it is beyond the scope of teachers even in political science department in the Kirtipur campus to teach these courses on their own, the department must draw on the teachers of other departments in the University to tackle these courses competently. (14)

* Manpower development in political science/international relations has to keep in mind how its products from the University will meet the needs of the society. It is not enough to impart theoretical knowledge that will not be sellable in the real world. There is need to make course programmes more practical which will provide education not only on what is happening, but also how things can be resolved. Providing students with practical on job experience with the numerous international organizations, groups, or even government ministries in the country is a possible option.

* A need for refresher programs for all teachers is desperately needed at all levels so that they may be able to keep themselves updated in their specific fields. Post-doctoral studies offered under the Fulbright Program offers such possibilities, but is severely limited in the number of grants offered to potential candidates. The University also needs to work out such programs with Ford Foundation, Carnegie Endowment, Japan Foundations, Asia Foundation and others in order to systematically upgrade the quality of its faculty. An additional option is also to establish exchange programs with other South Asian universities where scholars maybe able to conduct research for a period of 6-9 months. As it was done in the early years in the department of political science, scholars from other universities, particularly from the West, should also be encouraged to come and teach new courses at Tribhuvan University in a systematic and planned manner with the support of donor agencies.

* It is inconceivable that any discipline, including international relations, can grow in the University without adequate library facilities for both its students and teaching staffs. There is a strong need to review the ad hoc mechanism for coordination which currently exist between the department of political science and Central Library so that books and journal that are sorely needed can be obtained for use. It is important not only to prioritize the needs, but also to streamline the process so that libraries in Nepal can function as the foundation for higher education in Nepal, instead of operating as fiefdom of its own.

* As increasing research materials are becoming available on the web site, there is also a need to provide training to teachers and students on the use of the cyberspace. It is also conceivable that the creation of a web site at a regional level in South Asia with list of universities teaching and doing research on international relations would also be useful in learning from each other's experience. Such a web site could contain the list and structure of courses on international relations with names of teachers/researchers who could act as contact points for individuals working in the area.

Acknowledgements

The author is indebted to a number of people without whose help it would have been difficult to produce this paper. They include: Prof. T. N. Jaiswal, Prof. Dev Raj Dahal and Mr. Hari Ram Rijal in the Department of Political Science, Kirtipur; Prof. Nirmal Tuladhar and Prof. Dhruba Kumar at CNAS; and Prof. Niranjan Sharma, Dean's Office, Kirtipur.

Notes

(1.) Paper presented at Roundtable on "Teaching of International Relations in South Asian Universities," organized by the USEFI, New Delhi, India, April 30-May 1, 2001

(2.) For an overview of early years, see, B. C. Malla, "Development of the Study of Political Science in Nepal," in Prayag Raj Sharma, ed., Social Science in Nepal: A Report of the proceedings of a Seminar on Social Science in Nepal held at INAS in October, 1973, Institute of Nepal and Asian Studies, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal, September, 1974, pp. 130-146. See also, Prachanda Pradhan, "Critique on Political Science in Nepal, ibid., pp, 147-149.

(3.) One writer contends that "the trend" is no different between the earlier Panchayat system and present democracy since the objectivity required of the discipline is lacking even now. He suggests that whereas, on the one hand, scholars tend to blindly follow the party line for the own personal benefits, on the other, political parties "do not like objective analysis of politics, nor do they like critical appreciation of their roles." See, Ananta Raj Poudyal, "Political Science in Nepal," The Kathmandu Post, September 4, 1999, p. 4.

(4.) See, Courses of Study (1977-1980): Political Science Degree in Humanities and Social Sciences, Tribhuvan University, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dean's Office, Pokhara, Nepal.

(5.) See, Political Science: MA Political Science Curriculum, 1999, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, Curriculum Development Center, TU, Kathmandu, Nepal.

(6.) For an important work prodded during this period, see, Dhruba Kumar, Mao and China's Foreign Policy Perspectives (Kathmandu: CNAS: 1989).

(7.) The remaining four campuses where MA level courses were introduced only recently include: Dang, Nepalgunj, Surkhet and Mahendra Nagar.

(8.) Some actually believe that political science is in a "poor state of affairs." Among the reasons given are: failure of political scientists "to bring home to the society what political science really means and why it is indispensable for the overall development of the country"; and the lack of quality teachers since "it is not possible to get the right type of teachers in sufficient numbers if they are underpaid, are not motivated, have lower professional status and are not provided with attractive conditions of service." See, T. N. Jaiswal and Panna K. Amatya, "Development of Political Science in Nepal," in Prem K. Khatry, ed., Social Sciences in Nepal: Some Thoughts and Search for Direction (Kathmandu: CNAS, 1997), p. 55.

(9.) An assessment of the department made 18 years ago makes a very interesting point when the departments used to be "over-crowded by the student population which is increasing in recent years." See, Baral and Suwal, op. cit., p. 95.

(10.) Lok Raj Baral, Regional Migrations, Ethnicity and Security (New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1990); Lok Raj Baral, Politics of Balanced Interdependence: Nepal And SAARC (Delhi: Sterling, 1988). Lok Raj Baral, The Regional Paradox: Essays in Nepali and South Asian Affairs (Delhi: Adroit Publishers, 2000); Lok Raj Baral, ed., Looking to the Future: Indo-Nepal Relations in Perspective (Delhi: Anmol, 1996); and Muchkund Dubey, Lok Raj Baral, and Rehman Sobhan, eds., South Asian Growth Quadrangle: Framework for Multifaceted Cooperation (Delhi: Macmillan, 1999).

(11.) Sridhar K. Khatri, "A Decade of South Asian Regionalism," Contemporary South Asia, Vol. 1, No. 1 (1991); Sridhar K. Khatri, "The Politics of Becoming a Community: Stages and Prerequisites," South Asian Survey, June 1998; Sridhar K. Khatri, "SAARC: Regionalism in the Shadow of Bilateralism," Paper presented at the Conference on Multilateralism, Bilateralism and the Search for Security in Asia, organized by the Centre for International Studies and the Asian Studies Centre, St. Antony's College, University of Oxford, 11-13 May 2000 (forthcoming); Sridhar K. Khatri, A. N. Ram, and Kant K. Bhargava, eds,, South Asia 2010: Challenges and Opportunities (New Delhi: Konark Publishers, 2001); Dhruba Kumar, ed., Nepal's India Policy (Kathmandu, CNAS, 1992); Dhruba Kumar, South Asia After the Nuclear Test: Securing in Security, CNAS Occasional Paper, September 1999; and Dhruba Kumar, "Trends in Security Studies in Nepal: Recent Trends and Future Directions," Dipankar Banerjee, ed., Security Studies in South Asia: Change and Challenges (New Delhi: Manohar, 2000), pp. 159-192.

(12.) Calculated for the years 1992-2000 from records in the Political Science Department, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal.

(13.) See, Economics: MA Economics Curriculum, 1999, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Curriculum Development Centre, TU, Kathmandu, Nepal, pp. 28-29, 48-49.

(14.) The Central Department of Economics already has a course of International Economics, and it covers the same issues which students of IR also need to study. The same department also has a course on International Finance and Economic Cooperation which has not been able to be taugh because of the "lack of teachers" to cover the course. It is conceivable that since the latter course covers such issues as Regional Economic Cooperation wich is covred under the study of regional organizations (or "regionalism) in political science, the two departments could complement each other in these areas. See, Economics: MA Economics CurricuLum, 1999, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Curriculum Development Centre, TU, Kathmandu, Nepal, pp. 28-29, 48-49.

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