Foreign Policy and National Security of Small State Nepal

Abstract

Any nation-state's primary responsibility is to protect its citizens, the state, and the national interest. Nepal, a small state sandwiched between China and India, must always be watchful to protect its people, the state, and the interests of the country. The objective of the article is to analyze whether Nepal’s Defense and Foreign Ministry work together on national security issues. For the aforementioned security of the state and the people, the defense and foreign ministry should go hand in glove, which is not the case as of now as only issues related to Defense is dealt with by the National Security Council of Nepal. Therefore, as in Mongolia and the United States, National Security Council of Nepal ought to be empowered to make decisions pertaining to both foreign policy and national security; in our foreign policy, policies and strategies should be included for our neighbors and for great powers, as in Mongolia; follow objective neutrality in issues relating to the two neighbors, as by Switzerland; the defense and Foreign ministries should work in tandem, like in Mongolia and Denmark. The methodology used for research is qualitative, as a thorough investigation is required to answer the question raised.