Alexia Adhikari

I have recently completed my PhD in the interdisciplinary field of Development Studies, through the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies within the University of Adelaide, and supervised by Emeritus Professor John Gray and Professor Andrew Skuse.

My doctoral research examines the political and social dynamics surrounding neoliberal social policy reform in Nepal since 1990, by focusing on case studies from the education, health, and water supply sectors. By employing a comparative approach, my research seeks to identify the political and social conditions under which social policy reform has occurred in Nepal and in doing so, contribute to wider discussions about the political and social pre-conditions for social policy reform in 'fragile' or 'post-conflict' states more generally. This concern is in turn linked to questions about the impacts of particular political and social constellations on the realisation of citizens' social rights, specifically of access to quality public services in such countries. My research reveals an unresolved tension between state-led and neoliberal-led directions for development in Nepal.