Exploring Bhutan's democracy through empirical field research: in search of an approach to 'good governance' that balances liberal pluralism with the collective interests of society

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23510326
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Area studies
• Research Institution: Konan University (2012-2014); Seisen University. (2011)
• Principal Investigator: MASAKI K. 甲南大学, マネジメント創造学部, 教授 (30365837)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 民主主義 / 公共性 / 王政 / 国民総幸福 / ブータン

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Bhutan has chosen a‘middle path’ approach to democratization; it has complied with the global standards to adopt universal suffrage, multi-party election, and bicameral legislature, while contravening the liberalistic orthodoxy of rendering the state as a neutral arbiter that refrains from according a special status to any particular leader or religion. The constitution stipulates that the monarchy and Buddhism shall serve as moral authorities nurturing associative bonds in society. These ostensibly ‘illiberal’ provisions throw a critical light on the predicament facing today's ‘advanced democracies’, which lack a focal point that nurtures social cohesion bound by mutual obligation and trust, and are thus liable to implement development practices that are not only ecologically unsustainable but result in social and cultural degradation. Bhutan’s democracy can serve as a source of inspiration for those who explore types of an alternative governance structure.

Free Research Field

地域研究、開発学