The Economist has chosen 'Cockistocracy' as its word of the year for 2024. Which means a governance system run by the most incompetent people.

After Donald Trump's victory in the US elections, the name of the most controversial and unqualified people he tried to select as members of his proposed cabinet began to be published. This word is an antonym of 'aristocracy' i.e. a system of government run by the most qualified people. The word which indicates the system of governance used by the families of the upper clan who have little education. 

Around the world, populist populists have launched a political campaign against democratic systems based on 'meritocracy' now run by a limited number of so-called skilled people with elite qualifications. From the US to Europe and from Turkey to India, these populist right-wing parties have been winning elections through the electoral process. Significantly, they have replaced, or are increasingly likely to replace, the regimes of the old liberal democratic parties. On the other hand, it seems that the democratic parties are losing the faith/vote of the people who are trying to forget about the so-called left wing which tries to establish slogans of ultra-liberalism and chauvinism (such as gender recognition of small children) while overshadowing the important issues of livelihood and employment that give importance to small identity groups. The results of the democratic countries that held elections in 2024 are as follows, South or left-wing dictatorial countries were not discussed. 

In this article, how challenging is the construction of an inclusive state mechanism as envisioned by the constitution in the use of our democracy? Does the commentary on meritocracy cover inclusiveness or should it be viewed differently? How can the people's trust in the state apparatus be gained by overcoming the existing frustrations? These topics will be covered.

The 'Deep State' is a concept in which whoever is in power is dominated by bureaucratic and administrative power structures that are deep-rooted and permanent, taste power and have nothing to do with the sentiments of the common people. Such a 'deep state' is accused of running an oligarchic governance system that is insensitive to the people in the name of meritocracy and is only serving its own interests like a 'Kakistocracy' instead of providing services. 

It does not take much effort to understand the situation in Nepal, it is as colorful as the sun. From the Rana period to the mass movement of 2062/63, the manifestations of public protest were also aimed at this part of the government structure.

``Kleptacracy'' i.e. leaders and employees together with extreme abuse of power and position to allow their interests to dominate public resources/using power for personal gain is said to be . In Nepal, from Melamchi to the purchase of airplanes and from the case of Lalita Niwas land to the purchase of medicines during the Covid period, many such cases have been published. 

The Tyranny of Merit In the book The Tyranny of Merit, Michael J. Sandel discusses how people who are qualified by an artificial definition of ability are rewarded while others with different talents are marginalized and pushed into deprivation. Meritocracy has concluded that populism increases the attraction of the common people to populism as inequality increases, as well as the seizure of power by elites. Similarly, Amartya Sen has rejected the meritocracy that cannot address social justice and establish human development as a right. 

Why do nations fail?

Discussing the failure of democracy, liberalism and the nation-state, Yuval Noah Harari, Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Dollo and Francis Fukuyama emphasized on inclusiveness, inclusive institutions, addressing inequality and the importance of public access to power structures and the importance of dialogue with civil society. . 2024 Nobel Laureate Akemglu and Robinson have established the belief that nations fail if they cannot establish inclusive state mechanisms – state institutions.

Folklore doesn't respect inclusiveness 

Populist rulers claim to represent the people. Although successful in mobilizing people against oligarchy, such rulers often do not believe in dialogue and participation. Examples of the suppression of opposition voices and the pretense of electorally elected governance, which have turned to militant nationalism and often excluded marginalized communities, can be found in anti-immigrant politics from the US to India and Europe. Therefore, the possibility of inclusive politics and governance seems to be possible only through the reform of liberal democratic system.

There is a need to build inclusive state mechanisms and institutions to eradicate the deep-rooted problems of the 'deep state' and protect democracy from limited oligarchy in the name of meritocracy.

The basic duty of the state apparatus and bureaucracy is to identify the needs of various aspects and communities of a diverse society and provide public services and perform public welfare works. That is, to be eligible for public service is not only dedication to the principles of inclusiveness, but also to include the characteristics of inclusiveness within the definition of the qualifications of the state apparatus and the bureaucracy required to become such. Only if this happens, the access of various communities to the state system will increase, the state system will become more responsive and the quality of services provided will increase. Commentary on the inclusive state mechanism of

The preamble of the Constitution of Nepal has resolved to build an egalitarian society based on the principle of proportional inclusion and participation. It is mentioned that the state of Nepal will be an inclusive federal democratic republican state. Article 56 describes the structure of the state and mentions that it is an egalitarian society based on plurality and equality, inclusive representation and protection of identity. But some studies of the components of governance show that in the seven years since the constitution was promulgated, the quality of public administration has declined, transparency and accountability have declined, and corruption has increased or not improved. A 2022 Citizen Satisfaction Survey by The Asia Foundation found that public trust in political parties was only 44 percent.

People's hope for receiving economic or social services from the state structure has decreased. Recently, the review of reservation provisions introduced for inclusion in the Federal Civil Service Act under consideration in the Parliament has increased the suspicion that some of the inclusion provisions introduced during the 2062/63 agitation will not be removed. In the context of the establishment of a global belief that the state-nations will fail if the entire bureaucracy and the state-run institutions are not inclusive, there is a growing suspicion that they are trying to embrace the 'aristocracy' instead of the elite meritocracy. 

It is alleged that Nepal's government system and especially the bureaucracy is not a slave system and an "aristocracy" of the most qualified, but a system of the most incompetents is being transformed into a "kakistocracy" and is becoming a supporting mechanism to run a "kleptocracy" by abusing power and position. 

Between the ups and downs and the arithmetic equation of political parties seen during the construction of the constitution, after the constitution was issued in Nepal, mainly in terms of inclusiveness, the following commentaries were made:

a. All the work has been done for the construction of an inclusive governance system, which has already been committed to the letter of the constitution. The efficiency of the state machinery should be increased by re-establishing the merit-based system while evaluating its effects. From the inclusive reservations only Tata took advantage, the return did not reach the right target group. 

b. In all the parties in Nepal, there are populist, extreme left and extreme right wing. There are also militants in various guises. He did not like the inclusive character of the state at all. In his commentary, in the name of inclusiveness, a lot of games were played to bring disunity and instability. This has to stop. Needless to say, they did not like any form of federalism. 

c. The other candidates are tribals, Madhesi, Tharu, Dalits and marginalized sections. According to which this constitution is still not acceptable in this form. Inclusive and proportional state structures should be built according to the spirit of the interim constitution, but at the same time, their ideal suggestions for fragmentation into castes, groups, and subgroups come up, which in themselves are not divisive.

Can Nepal be transformed into a prosperous, progressive, democratic state without making the state system inclusive? This question cannot be answered. It is clear. As Ekeglu points out, the world's history of nation-building over the centuries shows that nations without inclusive statecraft are at risk of failure. The vision of a prosperous democracy will be a pipe dream as deprivation and marginalization will lead to further conflict. Some of the conflicts and demands of the identity partisans, now lying dormant under the carpet, will start to flare up. Even a simple incident or even a blip will increase the general distaste for governments and political parties in power. If inclusive structures are not created, there will be a resurgence of elite aristocracy, not meritocracy based on merit. Which will cause irreparable damage to the entire political system. And, economic inequality, economic recession and unemployment will increase, social justice will decrease and the state will eventually fail and become incompetent. 

How can the use of democracy in Nepal be successful by including the overall structures of the state including the bureaucracy? Following are some suggestions to expand participatory and egalitarian inclusive democracy and to make the state mechanisms, including the bureaucracy, accountable and people-oriented, avoiding the instability brought by the right wing of the populists and the radical left: 

a. Inclusive democracy is also about pluralism/respecting and addressing different opinions. So let's establish a culture of dialogue. From monarchist, populist, religious to identitarian groups, common formulas and opportunities for reconciliation should be sought through dialogue. Holding periodical elections is not the only characteristic of democracy, it is equally necessary to develop a participatory governance system from the local to the federal level. Communicating with citizens and community level organizations, listening to complaints and making them jointly responsible in the decision-making process should be done. The existing provisions including reservation for positive discrimination should be maintained and strengthened.