Ownership Of Social Contract Builds Trust

The constitution of Nepal, promulgated in 2015, is often cited as a national social contract. It is a negotiated national document among Nepali political parties. Nepalis have expressed their views, interests and rights to the elected members of the Constituent Assembly who drafted it. It has set the obligations of people, the state and a raft of institutions of governance. As Nepali society has shifted from duty-based inherited bonds to self-chosen rights-based, the social contract has become necessary at the various scales of life, from marriage, labour-capital relations and political parties-followers ties to citizens and the state.