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1. What is the objective of this site?

The Liberal Democracy Nepal project is an attempt by the Nepali Diaspora in North America to engage with Nepali political leaders (with or without party affiliations), policy makers, civil society members, grass-roots activists, and academicians within a common forum to promote liberal democracy in Nepal. The key idea is to open, moderate and maintain a continuous dialogue on the topic among a wide cross-section of people from Nepal and abroad.

2. How does this site define liberal democracy?

We seek to answer the age-old question posed by democracy: What are the rights and powers of the minority in a system based on majority rule? Liberal democracy ensures competitive elections and guarantees social justice and liberty to the citizens. The preamble in our web site reads, ?A liberal democracy?.. is protected by checks and balances among and separation of power between legislature, government and judiciary. It consists of good governance supported by strong institutions and guarantees personal and economic freedom, individual liberty, social justice, and protection of ethnic and political minorities. The rule of law is an intrinsic and fundamental value and practice in a liberal democratic system. Most importantly, the government under liberal democracy derives its legitimacy only through the will of the people.?

3. Doesn't Nepal already have a liberal democracy?

It is the sincere belief of those who collaborated in making this site possible that the answer is NO.

As noted by many inside and outside the country, unstable governments; growing threat to people's sovereignty, democratic rights and liberty; rights violations; ambiguity in separation of power; regional neglect and imbalances; exclusionary politics; excessive concentration of economic and political power; lack of internal democracy; lack of good governance; and the weak rule of law are some symptoms.

Democracy is an evolving process and we must do everything in our power to make ours better. The Liberal Democracy Nepal forum invites open dialogue from all corners and will do its best to make it an interactive, participatory, and practical endeavor. A perusal of the site will make it quite clear.

4. Who are the people supporting this site?

This site has been created by members of Nepali Diaspora in North America assisted by many well-wishers of Nepal. The Nepal Study Center of the University of New Mexico provides academic strength and opportunities for educational outreach and research capability on Nepal. Nepali leaders from various parties representing a wide spectrum of political ideologies, experienced policy makers, academicians, thinkers, and grass-roots workers are listed as those who will support the growth of this site and work towards the dissemination of ideas generated here. Most importantly, it is the hope of the creators of this site that practicable ideas emerging from these discussions will be implemented in Nepal. It is an evolving concept, and we will make every effort to be inclusive in incorporating a wide cross-section of Nepali society and well-wishers of Nepal. It is just a beginning.

5. Is the forum intended to educate?

It will, only to the extent that a visitor/participant chooses to learn from the site. The idea is to stimulate interaction and provoke thought that could lead to pragmatic solutions to the problems besetting Nepal.

6. How does this site work?

This site will provide an online forum for posting new and thoughtful articles on democracy, development and related topics for furthering discussions and sharing of ideas among those who care about the welfare of Nepal. It will be an objective, apolitical and moderated platform for serious reasoned discussion on all matters that have a bearing on the hoped-for evolution of Nepal into a Liberal Democracy. It will also be a repository of as much relevant information as we can amass. An LDN working structure is displayed as an organigram.

7. Is this in any way affiliated with a political party or faction in Nepal?

No. The Liberal Democracy Nepal forum initially garnered support from individuals affiliated with seven political parties in Nepal, representing a wide spectrum of ideologies. Their names and political affiliations are currently displayed in the Advisory Members section. This list is neither selective nor exclusionary. We will continue to reach out and invite input and participation from all others.

8. What are the main features of the Liberal Democracy Nepal forum?

There are three different interactive segments on the website.

1. The Op-Ed section features an article of the month and invites comments from the readers. This section is moderated, and comments are monitored and posted by the moderating team. We will try our best to post the original article under this section. Select comments and the original articles are published in the electronic publication Liberal Democracy Nepal Bulletin based on a screening process.

2. The Express Your Opinion section allows the readers to post their opinion on a selected article and/or topic of the period directly on the message board. There are two types of discussions: 1) long article that could be original or pre-published, and 2) a short discussion topic picked every week to be posted under Topic of the Week.

3. The Question and Answer segment on the web invites substantive questions from the readers to be deposited in a question bank. Such questions. Such questions are to be addressed to political leaders, policy makers, or notable personalities who may or may not be on the list of the website. The Liberal Democracy Nepal team will try its best to get the responses from the addresses, and post them for discussion.

The theme editors reserve the right to edit or remove entries that are deemed inappropriate or irrelevant. Finally, the forum also intends to look for and archive articles under various pertinent categories as selected by the team.

9. How can I be involved?

You can be involved in several ways. You can post comments on the Op-Ed article, and liven the debate by posting questions for political personalities. You can contribute pertinent articles for consideration on the Op-Ed section. You can also submit well thought out pieces for archival purpose under various categories (e.g., educational reforms, restructuring of the state, social justice and so on).

If you have ideas or any comments on the contents of the site, please tell us, so that we can incorporate your feed back in the ongoing development of the site. This is a dynamic work in progress. If you can utilize any ideas arising from this site, please do so and give us your evaluation of the impact so that we can all learn. You can also volunteer to assist us in enhancing the contents of this site or disseminating the principles championed here.

You can also be a part of various defined activities (e.g., moderating team, resource acquisition, dissemination, sponsoring activities in Nepal). Send your queries to the theme editors at the website at the e-mail address provided in the website.

10. What are the submission criteria/guidelines and editorial policy of the LDN online forum?

Please see the guidelines for submission in the section titled To Contributors.

11. How do I become a registered member of the Liberal Democracy Nepal forum?

The membership to the LDN forum is open to all. You can become a member by completing a new member registration form. Registration is required to participate on the discussions, to post comments, and to ask questions. You must provide your real name and a valid email address to become a member. Your real name will be displayed on the discussion forum along with your comments/posts, but the email address will be hidden to protect your privacy. Your email will not be given to any third party and will only be used to notify you about news/announcement/comments related to the Liberal Democracy Nepal forum.

12. How does the information collected on the LDN site's forums get disseminated?

Materials coming out of the LDN forums including constructive comments and other submissions from contributors will be selected for publication in the NepalStudy Center?s electronic publication [Liberal Democracy Nepal Bulletin] (LDNB). This electronic publication system uses the University of New Mexico's Digital Space repository system known as Dspace.

This open access Dspace repository goes out to hundreds of universities around the world and is easily accessible from Nepal as well. The Dspace network is growing very rapidly across the university libraries around the world.

LDNB is a venue for scholarly publication on the issues of development, democracy, and social change. One unique feature of the LDNB publication is that it publishes the main feature articles and a few select constructive comments from the readers. Thus, the LDN Bulletin tries to create a bridge between the academicians, policymakers, and the grass roots people.

The electronic LDNB publication intends to release at least two issues per year with several articles in each issue. The quality of the LDN Bulletin will be maintained through a screening process.

A summary of the Op-Ed issue and the select comments posted on the NSC?s electronic publication LDBN will also be featured in Nepali newspapers on a regular basis both in English and in Nepali.