“Hope is the Thing with Feathers,” Emily Dickinson writes. The poem is deeply powerful in its portrayal of hope through the use of metaphor. Dickinson likens hope to a gentle bird that lives within the human soul, singing endlessly even amid life’s fiercest storms. Hope emerges as a quiet force, offering comfort, strength, and encouragement, symbolizing optimism and resilience in times of hardship.
Dickinson’s metaphor presents hope as an inner force that endures hardship. This poetic understanding aligns closely with psychological theories that examine how individuals sustain belief in positive outcomes despite uncertainty.
The poem's theme closely reflects the current situation in Nepal, where hope continues to guide people through times of change. This time, people see Balendra (Balen) Shah, the new Prime Minister of Nepal, as a symbol of hope.
If we assess, at a deeper level, the voting patterns of the recent election, various factors, including rising expectations, dissatisfaction with traditional political parties, and hope in the possibility of change seem to have driven people to the polls. Hope, understood both psychologically and politically, has played a key role in Nepal’s recent political upheaval, with Balen Shah emerging as a symbol of charismatic hope amid weak institutions.
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The widespread appeal of such political figures can be understood through psychological theories of hope. There is a whole field of literature behind hope, which examines how people maintain belief in positive future outcomes even when they face uncertainty and difficulty. C. R. Snyder’s ‘Hope Theory’ describes hope as a cognitive, goal-directed process rather than merely a feeling. His theory proposes three key components: setting goals that one wants to achieve, creating pathways or strategies to achieve those goals, and having agency, or the motivation to pursue and follow those pathways. Balen won the hearts of many individuals during his three-year term as the Mayor of Kathmandu. He started aligning with Hope in theory and in practice, as he seems to have demonstrated that he sets clear goals, finds ways to achieve them, and believes in his ability to succeed.
While hope operates at a psychological level, it is also supported by underlying brain processes.
Hope and the Brain
While Hope Theory explains how people think about goals and motivation, these processes are also supported by underlying neurological mechanisms. When you are hopeful, you believe that you can find ways to reach your goals and take action toward them. This reduces feelings of helplessness, helps us act more resiliently, and encourages us to focus on solving problems rather than simply being optimistic and waiting for good things to happen. Studies show that hope is linked to meaning-making networks in the brain. The prefrontal cortex plays a key role in future-oriented planning and decision-making. In addition, the release of dopamine increases motivation, making us more likely to continue striving toward our goals. This process signals to the brain that the future matters and encourages people to keep trying. These psychological and neurological dimensions of hope also shape how people respond to political leaders and institutions.
Balen as a Charismatic Hope
These cognitive and neurological processes do not operate in isolation. They strongly influence how people emotionally connect with political leaders. In political psychology, scholars have identified two types of public hope: charismatic hope and collective hope. Charismatic hope, introduced by Max Weber, is centered on a single individual leader. Balen Shah gained popularity by emotionally connecting with citizens. People see him as fresh and independent and believe that he is different from traditional politicians. Many supporters believe that if he succeeds, their problems will be resolved. However, this form of leadership carries psychological risks, as hope can collapse quickly if the leader fails. Public hope is powerful, yet extremely delicate. When hope rises faster than real change, disappointment becomes almost unavoidable.
However, not all forms of political hope depend on individual leaders. In contrast, collective hope, proposed by Jozef Kozielecki, is rooted in trust in institutions and the rule of law. Nations with strong democratic institutions rely on collective hope. For example, in the United States, citizens tend to trust the political system, including institutions such as Congress and the Supreme Court. They believe that even if one leader fails, the system can correct itself over time. In Nepal, however, institutions have been weak and have very little public trust and credibility. As a result, people have increasingly looked for a symbolic figure who can represent change and transformation.
Keeping Hope Realistic
After Balen’s victory, public expectations have grown significantly. You can see that just by monitoring social media. People are hoping for quicker improvements, systematic reforms, and solutions to long-standing problems. However, many of these challenges are structural in nature and take time to address. Policy reform requires patience. To maintain long-term optimism, a leader may need to reset public expectations early, deliver small but steady improvements, and rebuild trust by communicating honestly about limitations and constraints.
Lasting political change depends not on an individual leader but on strengthening institutions that can turn hope into sustainable change. Hope becomes transformative only when it is supported by strong institutions capable of turning belief into lasting political progress. Let’s hope that the Balen government can turn hope into measurable outcomes that people are impatient to experience.
The author holds degrees in psychology and critical and creative thinking and lives in Boston with her family.
