Aspirations for Apparel?

Why Nepal should try to promote manufacturing in apparel and footwear

While politicians constantly hail Nepal's many development, the fact is that in terms of economic development, it has been stagnant. Nepal has no manufacturing industry to speak of, and it is far from being a services based economy. Agriculture is now no longer an attractive career proposition for most people due to the nature of the backbreaking work involved. 

There is scope for tourism, but it cannot be a panacea. Tourism simply cannot be as large a sector as manufacturing. Even in a country like Thailand, which has marketed itself as a tourism haven for decades, manufacturing is by far the largest sector in terms of contribution to GDP. 

Manufacturing is the only real savior for Nepal. Now there are many questions that can be raised about the type of manufacturing that should be suitable for the country. Obviously, given the size and quality of the workforce, Nepal cannot hope to manufacture complicated products. Thus, the focus should like on simpler products like footwear and apparel. 

Yes, we will need to compete with the likes of Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia, among others. But the fact is that the market for footwear/apparel is so large it can accommodate another country. Further, it is not just that the market is so large; the market is also qualitatively different. People don't just want to buy known brands anymore as a result of self-awareness; they are also on the lookout for good, but unknown brands. People know now that brands such as Nike charge a premium based not only on the quality of the product but also on the brand value. But many people aren't willing to pay those hefty premiums anymore.  

Thus, if Nepal could be a workshop for less popular, but good brands (or could even develop its own products), it could be in a position to become an important player in that market tomorrow. If we develop good products, they will find their way to savvy customers and the brand value could increase. 

What this blog is about

This blog is about geopolitics. Or at least, one of the themes will be geopolitics. I intend it to be mainly about Asian geopolitics, but I will cover other subjects. I will write about Nepal, as it is my country of birth, and where I live now, but I will take a more holistic view about this country, locating it within the larger Asian geopolitical context. 

You can't write a new blog on geopolitics without seeming a bit presumptuous. Who is this fellow who came out of nowhere, you might ask. He doesn't have the right credentials. How does he think he's qualified to write about these things? 

People who ask these questions have a point. I think there are many, many people who are very qualified academically, to write a blog about geopolitics, but who don't. But I believe that academic qualifications are neither necessary nor always sufficient to write about important subjects of global importance. Academics often have deep knowledge about a particular subject but find it difficult to broaden the scope. By contrast, I won't pretend to be an expert on anything, but I can write a good deal about a lot of things. So that is the value I bring, I think. In any case, that is for you, the reader to decide whether this blog is worth your time or not. 

 Writing a blog is a hard task. Well, if you want to write sensibly, that is. Our world is full of information. Oftentimes, the blogger surely asks himself/herself why another blog? Why, indeed? We have a host of platforms that offers information, discussions, and analyses. What will another one do? 

Well, it might not be of much consequence for the world, but it could be good for you. If you are really lucky, then the blog could be popular and monetizable. If you equate the success of your endeavor by its popularity or its ability to make money, then that could be an incentive to work harder on your blog. However, that is not guaranteed. There are lots of blogs out there. Some are very good. But most don't make much money. Therefore, money should not be a prime motivating factor if you want to stay in this business for long. 

So, why not give up on the whole idea and just keep a diary? Well, for the simple reason that you might reach out to people who need to read your blog. Even it is only one other person, somewhere far, far away, what you write could make a difference to his/her life. That is reason enough, I think, to keep going. That's what I intend to do. There will be ups and downs. Sometimes you might just not feel like writing. That's okay. Take a break. That's what I did. I had planned to be very consistent, producing at least one blog per 3-4 days no matter what happened. But I didn't meet my own goals. Most likely, in the beginning you won't either. But that's okay. Just keep going. 

 

Judicial reform in Isreal: A harbinger of more democratic backsliding? 

Across the world, we are witnessing countries roll back democratic norms and the pace appears to be increasing. The most surprising country to join this club is Israel, which had, for a long time always prided itself on being the only democracy in the Middle East. And yet the way in which events are unfolding in that country suggest that a truly profound change is happening in that country's political culture. 

In Israel, there always had been a clear separation of powers between the executive/legislature and the judiciary. Israeli judges had the power to strike down laws as unconstitutional if they thought they were. Although they didn't use the power often, they did not shy away from using it either. 

The current crisis was years in the making, but gained traction recently because of the precarious situation of the current government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu, fighting corruption charges, began losing most of his erstwhile allies and formed a coalition government with members of the ideological, extreme right. The latter, meanwhile, saw at the present moment an opportunity to get rid of judicial overreach. The extremists had always had an animus with the judiciary, who they thought was composed of liberals who wanted to erase the Jewish identity of Israel. Thus the two coalition partners, Netanyahu and the extreme right, were in bed together for different reasons. Netanyahu had pragmatic reasons as he wanted to fight off corruption charges whereas the rightists saw in this moment an opportunity to shape the future of Israel in their own ideological colors. 

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have gathered to protest the judicial overhaul but Netanyahu has not given an indication that he is going to back down. It will be interesting to see what happens in that country in the weeks and months to come.