Abstract Nepali civil society organizations, particularly indigenous people’s organizations, have been functional for many years. Despite representing nearly 40 per cent of the population, indigenous people in Nepal are witnessing increasing efforts by the government to shrink their civic space through restrictive legal measures. As a reaction, a section of civil society has initiated countering it through various advocacy activities. The exploratory study investigates how indigenous people’s organizations (IPOs) understand their position within Nepali civil society, explores their concerns regarding the current regulatory changes, and contextualizes these relationships within a broader trend of shrinking civic space. Based on cases of four IPOs, the worldviews of these indigenous organizations are contrasted with more conventional CSOs in Nepal. Major differences include: (a) lack of customary practices in proposed Common Law, (b) limited voice and participation of indigenous people in public consultation processes, (c) lack of recognition of the specificities of IPOs, (d) overt formalization of CSOs in terms of registration, and (e) politicization of civil society that is detrimental to IPOs.

中文翻译：

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尼泊尔（缩小的）公民空间：土著人民组织的关注

摘要尼泊尔民间社会组织，特别是土著人民组织，已经运作了很多年。尽管尼泊尔代表了近40％的人口，但尼泊尔政府正通过限制性法律措施，为缩小其公民空间而做出越来越多的努力。作为回应，一部分民间社会通过各种倡导活动发起了反击。这项探索性研究调查了土著人民组织（IPO）如何理解其在尼泊尔民间社会中的地位，探讨了他们对当前法规变化的担忧，并在缩小公民空间的更广泛趋势中将这些关系具体化。基于四个IPO的案例，这些土著组织的世界观与尼泊尔传统公民社会组织的对比。