The nationals and the internationals

(This article is a part of the web-exclusive series from our latest issue 'Disaster Politics'. More from the print quarterly here.)

The earthquake in Nepal, which struck on 25 April 2015, created a new national context, replacing the peace process as the defining circumstance to which every secondary issue was drawn for almost a decade. If the current attempts to rapidly complete the constitution are successful, one of the earthquake's first major consequences – beside the destruction it wrought – will be to formally end the transitional phase of national politics of the last nine years. And 2015 may come to be seen as a turning point in the country's history, alongside 1951, 1960, 1990, and 2006.

Events unraveled more quickly than usual around each of those famous years, but the prevailing situation is not so easily altered. One thing that has been fairly constant through the several phases of Nepal's modern history is the presence of foreign donors, seeking to support the country and its government in whatever the current challenge may be. After 2006, the donors, and the United Nations, lined up to support the creation of a lasting peace, and the inauguration of a 'new Nepal', through the implementation of the peace agreement. Their role was sometimes controversial and it is questionable whether they achieved their goals. Now, the donors and the Nepal government are warily entering another phase together, aiming to 'build back better' after the earthquake, not so much hand in hand as bound awkwardly together, like two men in a three-legged race.