Darian Dolansky Dr Grant SOC 200 8 June 2016 Country Profile Assignment Nepal The country of Nepal is located in South Asia above India In its early history Nepal was ruled by a monarchy that ended in the year 1951 leading to the rise of political parties in the government Between this time and 1996 the Nepal government struggled with stability dropping and reinstating political parties ultimately leading to the 10 year civil war that took broke out in 1996 Central Intelligence Agency This civil war only created further corruption in the political system and still has a withstanding effect on the country as even today it still struggles to find a stable and working government In turn with the political system there have also been many faults within their economy The government relies heavily on remittances making up more than a quarter of its GDP helping only further establish the country as one of the poorest in the world Nepal s progression to become a more developed country was only hindered in early 2015 when it was hit with a severe earthquake Political gridlock was emplaced protests broke out and the country was left in dire need of economic reform With the combination of both natural and social forces Nepal suffers from severe inequality Its population is left not only poor and malnourished with 25 2 under the poverty line Central Intelligence Agency but education and literacy rates are also at a low Now when examining how Nepal got in this situation there are multiple theories that can help explain these circumstances The first of these being a market oriented theory With this theory it can be assumed that if Nepal had more of a free structured and stable economy that they would be able to have a sounder economic system Due to the consistent changes in the structure of the political system and civil war this only emphasizes the importance for the country to allow its citizens to make their own economic decisions A second theory is the dependency theory which I find to be the most relevant in how Nepal has developed so little Due to the earthquake in 2015 and various other factors Nepal has only had but choice to depend on countries for financial support As stated earlier more than a quarter of their GDP comes from remittances from other countries The world systems theory could help explain why Nepal is not in a sound position As they are in need of such help from other countries it is vital that they get the proper assistance from these countries In the case of Nepal they may need more than just money to be sent and further things such as instruction on how to run their government and create a well structured economy Lastly the state centered theory is another prime example of how Nepal could get in the state that they are in now This theory stresses the role of the government in society which has clearly not been a strong point in the history of Nepal If there were able to create a more structured government that results in less chaos then it is highly probable they would be able to develop further In reference to Nepal I find that the dependency theory is the best explanation as to why they are poor and lack equality As mentioned above the country gets a great percentage of it s GDP as gifts or assistance from other countries This results in the potential to become reliant on other countries to save them and give them the support they need Rather than teaching Nepal how to operate successfully I find that the country should emphasize on creating a more civil society as a result of their government It is clear through their history that they do not have a sound government and need to make major changes in this factor to create a more developed and equal country Works Cited Giddens Anthony Introduction to Sociology New York W W Norton 2014 Print The World Factbook Nepal Central Intelligence Agency Central Intelligence Agency 16 May 2016 Web 08 June 2016