Democratization by Decree: The Role of Western Ideology in the Changing Political Structure of the Kingdom of Bhutan By Jacqueline Lungmus

SIS 201: Making of the 21st Century Section AJ TA Heather Guyton 2/30/12

In 2008 the Kingdom of Bhutan celebrated its 100th anniversary as a sovereign state. It was at this time that the fourth king of Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, revealed the countrys new constitution to the public. In celebration of 100 years of peace and relative prosperity, the King gave his people a say in their government. While the Constitution had been in the making for several years, it still came as a surprise to the rest of the world. Scholars believe this may be one of the only historical instances of a monarch willingly giving up absolute power, and it has become an interesting case study in the evolution of governments. Nevertheless, why would this ever happen in the first place? Why would King Wangchuck lead his own countrys transition from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy? I would argue it is in part due to the Kings devotion to the concept of Gross National Happiness, but more prominently, it is because of the influence of Western ideology. However, to understand why this transition would take place, it is important to better understand why this situation is so puzzling in the first place. I will begin by focusing primarily on the lack of internal conflict and the failure of surrounding democracy. From there the discussion will continue on to possible explanations for this event, concentrating on the philosophical concept of Gross National Happiness that has come to define so much of Bhutans political and social structure, and the role Western ideology has played in influencing and shaping the Kings reign. I will conclude by touching upon counter arguments and what the future holds for this small Himalayan country. To start, this political event has come to be considered a puzzle for a number of reasons. The most obvious reason is that by setting forth a constitution the king is literally limiting his power and control within his own kingdom. Article 1 item 1 of the Bhutanese 1

constitution states that, Bhutan is a sovereign kingdom and the sovereign power belongs to the people of Bhutan.i This is the very first line of the constitution that the King himself created, and it immediately establishes a precedent of the citizens being the acting figures of the government. Additionally, the constitution establishes the governments ability to depose the king. Article 2 item 25 states, On such a resolution being approved by a simple majority the [King] shall abdicate in favour of the heir apparent.ii This king did not just make his removal possible; he provided concrete instructions on how to get rid of him if the public ever wished to do so. This is actually considered to be one of the first historical instances of a king limiting his own power, by royal decree nonetheless,iii and for this reason the motivations behind this change become very intriguing. The formation of this puzzle is built upon by a disproportionate lack of conflict. History has shown that most radical regime changes are caused by violence or bring violence with them. However, this monarchy in its entirety has faced virtually no opposition for its full 100 years of existence.iv The Kingdom of Bhutan has prospered under royal rule, with almost all the basic amenities accessible to nearly all Bhutanese as described by Nalini Kant Jha of the University of Allahabad.v The political system in place had no opposition, and yet still sought to over-haul its entire form. Even when everything was working perfectly, the King was making dramatic changes. This puzzle is even further established by a history of surrounding democratic failures. The events taking place in the countries that tightly surround Bhutan should serve to make them skeptical of democracy, and indeed there is evidence that it has. What Bhutan sees when it looks across its borders is democracy essentially failing. Nepals

democratic attempt resulted in violent uprisings followed by a harsh crackdown. In India, Bhutan sees a democratic system that has resulted in political corruption and mass discord.vi If the areas history with democratic reforms has been so historically unsuccessful, it is confusing why the King would find democracy appealing. So appealing in fact, that he would even instill it against the desire of his own people. Many citizen of Bhutan, due to external factors discussed above, are skeptical or even opposed to democracy. To the people, how the government is working is more important than the actual type of government in place, and as far as they are concerned their king has been good to them.vii They worry that a system that has been working well for them may be spoiled by an attempt to westernize and decentralize it. However, even with the skepticism of his people and his advisors, the King went forward with his plans to turn Bhutan into a constitutional monarchy. Taking all of this into account, possible explanations for this dramatic political change become enigmatic. The answer to this puzzle appears to have two interacting aspects to it. To start, it is important to note that this is a situation dominated by agency; King Jigme Singye Wangchuck himself appears to be the mastermind and source of this dramatic change in political policy. At one level, the source of these changes appears to be entirely altruistic. It was this king that coined the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH), and this philosophical perspective has come to dominate King Wangchucks political ideology for the majority of his reign. The concept of GNH is characterized by a belief that the cultural and spiritual well being of the citizens of a country should be considered more important than other measures of a countries success, such as to Gross National Product (GDP).viii Though the concept itself is currently in the throws of heated

debate about its feasibility as a reality,ix the concept actually has a physical and concrete place in the laws of the state. Article 9 item 2 of the Bhutanese constitution declares, The State shall strive to promote conditions that will enable the pursuit of Gross National Happiness.x The creation of this philosophy and the huge significance put upon it by the state can imply the existence of altruism on the part of the king, and on an elementary level altruism does seem to have played an important role in Bhutans development. It appears, quite candidly, that the king genuinely wants his people to be happy and has explicitly used GNH as an approach to doing so, the placement of GNH within the countrys constitution being the strongest example of this. With the end goal being the cultural and spiritual wellbeing of each citizen, it is the Kings understanding that democracy and decentralization is the path to good governance and good governance is the best strategy to serve the people. This idea was greatly influenced by GNH, and in a document released by the Bhutanese government commemorating 100 years of sovereignty it was stated that it is this wisdom [of GNH] that will carry Bhutan into the future.xi This is direct evidence into King Jigme Singye Wangchucks mindset that it is GNH that will help to successfully guide the change and development he has planned for his country. However, while it is exceedingly interesting that the King is utilizing this idea of Gross National Happiness for political development, this interpretation leads us directly into the next aspect of the puzzle. It is not out of the ordinary that a king would want his people to be happy, but the Bhutanese monarchy had experienced 100 years of prosperity and success. Evidence discussed earlier suggests that the Bhutanese people were indeed very happy in the system that already existed. It seems that the more poignant question to

think about here is why democracy? It is at this point that the role of Western ideology in the evolving outlook of the Bhutanese royalty needs to be looked at. This was not a case of the king randomly settling upon democracy when making the decision about a political change, or of his people demanding that their government make democratic changes; the emphasis of the very idea of democracy within government documents and speeches serves as proof that the King picked a democratic governmental form very deliberately. The King believes that democracy is the best form of government to make his people happier. Within the ideology of King Wangchuck there exists a resilient belief that democracy is the vehicle for just development;xii that Western ideology and political organization really is the epitome of political form, and that Bhutan should come to embody that in order for the long term success and, seemingly more importantly to the King, long-term happiness of his people. There is evidence within state documents of occidental influence on the state ideologies of Bhutan, most profoundly in a book released by the Bhutanese government wherein they extensively quote the western scholar Fukuyama. It touches on Fukuyamas idea that in society today democracy remains the only legitimate form of government remaining. The document strongly states that, Monarchy has no place in modern politics.xiii The significance of this point cannot be underscored enough. The Bhutanese government sited the fundamental work of a hugely influential Western international relations scholar in a political document, and was thus using it as explanation for its actions and goals. While it may be inaccurate to say that Fukuyama himself directly influenced the development of Bhutan, this is a very poignant example of the role Western ideology is playing in the political changes taking place in this country. It is

through this source, and others like it, that the idea of democracy as the only legitimate remaining form of government may have made its way into the ideology of the Bhutanese royalty. King Wangchucks outlook has become dominated by the idea that democracy is the future while monarchy is the past, and so it is the kings duty to successfully prepare Bhutan for that future by tackling democratization head on. This same government document continues by stating that the very modernity of a nation is qualified by a system that has a competition based elective government, a written constitution, and a bill of rights.xiv This is a fundamentally Western political organization, and it is what has fueled the process of decentralization in Bhutan. It is all in attempt to bring Bhutan into what is considered to be the modern world. The significance of using the word modern in the last quote needs to be noted because the very conception of modernity that Bhutan is using to shape its dramatic political changes is Western in character. Nowhere is it written in stone that in order to be modern a state must be democratic, and yet that idea is a prevailing theme in liberalism and Western ideology, and so it has become so in Bhutan as well, due entirely to a king who has been profoundly influenced by Western philosophical thought. Additionally, the King genuinely believes that it is his responsibility to enable the people to have a say in their government, and he says so in many of his addresses to the nation. In December of 2001, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck stated to the country that, one of the most important responsibilities of a king is to enable the people to govern and look after the country through the establishment of a dynamic political system.xv He also found it necessary to say that the constitution is not a gift from the King to the peoplexvi but it is the kings sacred responsibility. In these two passages King Wangchuck drives

home the idea that democracy is the necessary next step for his country to take. King Wangchuck wants to claim that he is not doing anything new and profound, only following the path set by those in other countries before him. It was soon after this announcement that the King stepped down and handed control of the newly defined monarchical position, that of a figurehead and advisor, over to his eldest son. To the King, this political organization was not something that would directly benefit him, but was done entirely for the prosperity of his country. If King Wangchuck believed he had anything significant to gain he would not have immediately removed himself from power. When there is nothing to gain and no pressure to change, one of the only remaining catalysts to explain a situation such as this is ideology. Bhutanese scholar Theirry Mathou points out that the king has been, very keen to follow his own path to reach an objective that has been the vital lead of his reign, specifically that of leading Bhutan towards democratization and a participatory government, literally converting a hereditary absolute system of government into a constitutional monarchy.xvii Mathou makes sure to point out the individuality of this goal; it is the Kings own path towards a goal that he has envisioned and been working towards for a very long time, driven by a prevailing influence of Western political concepts. Interestingly enough, a counter argument to this explanation does not exist, primarily because this issue is so current that at the moment it remains very unexplored. At this point in time (though things currently unknown may emerge in the near future) there appears to be no concrete force, such as internal strife, external pressure, or the failure of the current political regime, shaping this dramatic change. All that currently exists is an agency-based explanation focusing on King Wangchuck and his currently

Western dominated perspective. It is because of these issues that ideology quickly jumps to the forefront in a search for explanations, and this explanation remains there virtually unchallenged. It still appears that occidental influence on King Wangchuck together with the philosophy of GNH is the strongest explanation for the unprecedented political change currently taking place in Bhutan. It will be interesting to see, as time progresses and Bhutan has had time to settle into its new role as a constitutional monarchy, what kind of alternative explanations will arise. For now however, the puzzle of why the fourth king of Bhutan set forth a constitution needs to be understood through the importance of GNH and Western ideology, and its distinction to King Jigme Singye Wangchuck as a political and societal ideal. When a country is facing no extreme internal or external pressure to reform and the king himself is widely supported by his own people, it stands to reason that explanations for reform efforts lie within ideology, and are not due to some form of pressure. Hopefully in the coming years more Western scholars who have an understanding of political development will get to explore Bhutan. For now, Bhutan continues to redefine itself through its new political system. The real challenge will come in the year 2013, when the government will have to administer its second round of elections. A considerable amount of Bhutans future success will be forecasted by the new political systems ability to transition through new parliamentary elections without the strong guiding hand of their beloved 4th king. Until then, the democratization of Bhutan remains an interesting case study on how countries can make positive reforms and Westernize, while still maintaining a national and cultural identity.

The Kingdom of Bhutan, Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan (2008) Article 1 Item 1. ii Constitution Article 2 Item 25. iii Krishna Gopal, Bhutans Development Strategies Bhutan: From Theocracy to Democracy, ed. Madhu Rajput (Jaipur: Guattam Book Company, 2010) 4. iv United Nations, Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, Country Presentation for Bhutan (New York: United Nations, 2001) 23-24. v Nalini Kant Jha, Revoluion from Above: The Role of Monarchy in the Transformation of Bhutan, Bhutan: From Theocracy to Democracy, ed. Madhu Rajput (Jaipur: Guattam Book Company, 2010) 6. vi Jha 8. vii Gopal 43. viii Thierry Mathou, Political Reform in Bhutan: Change in a Buddhist Monarchy, Asian Survey (1999): 615. ix GNH: A Heavy Responsibility, Kuensel [Thimpu] 6 Jan. 2005 x Constitution Article 9 Item 2. xi Royal Government of Bhutan, Tourism Council of Bhutan, Centenary Issue (Thimpu: Keen Media, 2008) 29. xii Centenary 23. xiii Royal Government of Bhutan, Ministry of Education, Polity, Kingship, and Democracy (Thimpu: Bhutan Times, 2009) 261. xiv Polity 268. xv Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Address to the Nation, Nation Day, MLA Convention, Wangduephodrang, 17 Dec. 2001. xvi Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Address to the Nation, Nation Day, MLA Convention, Samtse, 17 Dec. 2002. xvii Thierry Mathou, How to Reform a Traditional Bhuddhist Monarchy (Thimpu: The Centre for Bhutan Studies, 2008) 17.

Bibliography GNH: A Heavy Responsibility. Kuensel [Thimpu] 6 Jan. 2005: 3. Rpt. in Gross National Happiness. Thimpu: Kuensel Corporation Limited, 2010. N. pag. Print. Gopal, Krishna. Bhutans Development Strategies. Bhutan: From Theocracy to Democracy. Ed. Madhu Rajput. Jaipur: Guattam Book Company, 2010. 35-45. Print. Jha, Nalini Kant. Revolution From Above: The Role of Monarchy in Transformation of Bhutan. Bhutan: From Theocracy to Democracy. Ed. Madhu Rajput. Jaipur: Guattam Book Company, 2010. 1-9. Print. Kingdom of Bhutan. The Constitution. N.p.: n.p., 2008. Print. Mathou, Thierry. How to Reform a Traditional Buddhist Monarchy. Thimpu: The Centre for Bhutan Studies, 2008. Print. - - -. Political Reform in Bhutan: Change in a Buddhist Monarchy. Asian Survey 36.4 (1999): 613-632. JSTOR. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3021241>. Rizal, Dhurba P. Bhutan: Decentralization and Good Governance. Delhi: Adroit Publishers, 2001. Print. Royal Government of Bhutan. Ministry of Education. Polity, Kingship, and Democracy. By Sonam Kinga. Thimpu: Bhutan Times, 2009. Print. - - -. Tourism Council of Bhutan. Centenary Issue. Ed. Siok Sian Pek-Dorji, et al. Thimpu: Keen Media, 2008. Print. United Nations. Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries. Country Presentation for Bhutan. Brussels: United Nations, 2001. Print. - - -. United Nations Development Programme. Achievements and Scaling Up Strategies. Thimpu: United Nations, 2011. United Nations Development Programme. Web. 5 Feb. 2012. <http://www.bt.undp.org/>. Wangchuck, Jigme Singye. 76th session of National Assembly. 10 June 1998. Address. - - -. National Day. Wangduephodrang. 17 Dec. 2001. Address. - - -. National Day. Samtse. 17 Dec. 2002. Address.

10