Exploring the Origins of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-292
Author(s):  
Katsu Masaki ◽  
Jit Tshering
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Gross National Happiness ◽  
Gradual Process ◽  
Invented Tradition ◽  
Development Plans ◽  
Recent Origin ◽  
National Happiness ◽  
Security Concerns ◽  
Development Discourses

Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) is often dismissed by its critics as being an instrument for policy elites to address ‘national security concerns’ that started to threaten their grasp on the state around the turn of the millennium. This study problematizes this line of criticism that relegates GNH to an ‘invented tradition’ of recent origin. For this purpose, this study draws on Roy Wagner’s notion of ‘invention’ that draws attention to how various sets of meanings are brought together. A historical analysis of the country’s development plans points to several origins of GNH, including ‘Buddhism and Bhutan’s traditional socio-economic system’ and ‘outside concepts’ holding sway in international debates on development. GNH has undergone a long and gradual process of elaboration in view of Buddhist mores and development discourses, while also taking into account national security concerns. This study concludes by warning against the reductionistic stance of GNH critics, in favour of a more balanced perspective that captures the multiplicity of the origins of GNH.

Exploring the ‘Partial Connections’ between Growth and Degrowth Debates: Bhutan’s Policy of Gross National Happiness

2021 ◽  
pp. 026010792110321
Author(s):  
Katsu Masaki
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Economic Order ◽  
Policy Objective ◽  
Gross National Happiness ◽  
Structural Shift ◽  
Human Wellbeing ◽  
Development Plans ◽  
National Happiness

Debates on degrowth have emerged with the realisation that the existing growth-oriented economic order has infringed upon our biosphere’s limits and human wellbeing. This must be rectified in favour of a more sustainable and equitable order through the promotion of green, caring and communal economies, as pointed out by degrowth advocates. However, these advocates argue for abandoning economic growth as a policy objective, thereby missing an opportunity to heed the potential of forging ‘partial connections’ between growth-seeking and degrowth-oriented measures. To explore a remedy against this pitfall, this study examines Bhutan’s policy of Gross National Happiness (GNH), which downplays a growth-for-growth’s sake approach but avoids precluding the pursuit of growth, in line with the historical unfolding of the country’s development plans and its Buddhism-based mores. Although GNH is yet to elicit a structural shift towards a full-fledged post-growth society, its balanced stance aids the search for a clue on how best to promote a post-growth transition with an intricate combination of growth-seeking and degrowth-oriented measures. Despite this potential, GNH has been largely overlooked by degrowth advocates, who depart from their own principle of valuing ‘locally determined paths’. JEL: B59, 029

scholarly journals Modern Bhutan’s Buddhist Statecraft

2021 ◽  
pp. 71-86
Author(s):  
William J. Long
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
National Security ◽  
Development Policy ◽  
Modern State ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Gross National Happiness ◽  
Economic Development Policy ◽  
National Happiness ◽  
Modern Era

AbstractThis chapter introduces the country of Bhutan and its unique pursuit of a Buddhist-inspired foreign policy during the modern era (1949–present). This chapter illustrates how a modern state implements a national security and economic development policy consistent with Buddhist philosophical principles and Buddha’s political and economic teachings and, like the prior chapter, it serves as proof of concept for the possibility of putting Buddhist ideas into practice. The cornerstone of Bhutan’s foreign and domestic policies is its pursuit of Gross National Happiness, a concept that endorses holistic progress in the material, spiritual, emotional, cultural, and environmental welfare of its society.

Governing the Rainforest

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eve Z. Bratman
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Brazilian Amazon ◽  
Conservation Areas ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Hydroelectric Dam ◽  
History Of ◽  
Development Plans ◽  
Extractive Reserves ◽  
Road Paving

Sustainable development is among the foremost ideas that guide societal aspirations around the world. This book interrogates the concept through a critical lens, examining both its history and the trajectory of its manifestations in the Brazilian Amazon. The book argues that sustainable development is a concept that is better understood as involving embroilments and ongoing processes of contestation rather than a single end goal. The research offers historical analysis of Amazonian development from the colonial era into the discourse and praxis of sustainable development in contemporary times, and then illustrates the tensions of sustainable development plans that are experienced by people living in the areas geographically the closest to where those plans are being implemented. The history of the Brazilian Amazon is introduced to readers through focused discussions on the tensions between making grand plans for the region and the everyday practices and experiences of sustainable development, which involve considerably more muddling. Case studies explore agrarian reform initiatives that occur alongside road paving projects, the creation of extractive reserves and conservation areas that follow in the wake of assassinations, and the construction of a massive hydroelectric dam. While Amazonian sustainable development is a widely-accepted imperative, the research presented here shows how land use and infrastructure plans conducted in the name of sustainable development often perpetuate and reinforce economic and political inequalities.

National Security and U.S. Immigration Policy, 1776–1790

2008 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robbie Totten
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
International Relations ◽  
National Security ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Early Republic ◽  
Security Concerns ◽  
New Nation ◽  
The Military

An examination of U.S. immigration policy during the early Republic from a security perspective—a common analytical focus within the field of international relations—reveals the inadequacy of traditional economic and ideological interpretations. Security concerns, based on actual threats from Great Britain and Spain, permeated the arguments both for and against immigration. Those in favor of immigration hoped to strengthen the nation, primarily by providing soldiers and money for the military; those opposed to immigration feared that it would compromise national security by causing domestic unrest and exposing the new nation to espionage and terrorism. These issues are not unlike those that beset contemporary policymakers.

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