Catalysing educational development or institutionalising external influence? Donors, civil society and educational policy formation in Nepal

Recent pronouncements on the benefits of enlisting civil society in educational development have so far not attracted adequate scholarly analyses. This paper therefore seeks to present a critical perspective on this new trend by providing a fine-grained look at three concrete cases of NGO involvement in educational policy-making in Nepal. It also works to advance wider theoretical debates about the mechanisms of policy convergence and post-structural theories of de-politicisation and its possible effects, as well as commenting on the origins of the Maoist insurgency and providing a basic conceptual schema for much-needed research in other national contexts.