Good Governance: How Can Politics Promote Wellbeing?

Winter Edition , December 13th, 2015 Introduction ‘Good governance’ usually refers to the way that a political organisation such as a national government or local municipality is run. However, these days the phrase is often used to denote sound policy and practice for any large-scale institution, including a university, union, or business. Central questions about...

The State and I

Winter Edition , December 13th, 2015 Let me start by stating what this article is not about. It is not an academic investigation into the features of the Nordic model of a state called the welfare state; and it is not an attempt to compare the welfare state model with other state forms that have...

Yes Minister: Ministers and Civil Servants need to Sort Out Their Relative Authority

Winter Edition , December 13th, 2015 The Yes Minister television sitcom that became a Textbook It is inevitable in parliamentary democracies that there will be tensions between elected ministers, who usually serve for only relatively short periods of a few years, and civil servants who often work in government for their entire careers. While a...

Leading by Example: Constitutional Bodies and Their Role in Governance

Winter Edition , December 13th, 2015 Dasho Neten Zangmo, the former Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of the Kingdom of Bhutan and now the Executive Director of Samdrup Jongkhar Initiative and Lho Mon Education, spoke with her colleague Dr. Tashi Colman on the role of constitutional bodies in Bhutanese governance. In sharing her views,...

The Financial Sector Needs to Be a Step Ahead of Economic Actors and Government

Winter Edition , December 13th, 2015 Dasho Penjore, the recently appointed Governor of the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (the country’s Central Bank), spoke with journalist Gyalsten K. Dorji on the role of the financial sector in Bhutan and whether it is fulfilling its role.This interview, however, took place in November 2015 when Dasho was...

Law and Justice in Bhutan
: A Review of the Book The Constitution of Bhutan: Principles and Philosophies

Winter Edition , December 13th, 2015 It is now seven years since Bhutan adopted a written Constitution as part of a series of far-reaching reforms commenced in 2001 by the Fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. His Majesty aimed to, among other things, provide Bhutan with ‘a democratic system of government best suited for the future...

Leadership of the Wise: Kings of Bhutan: A Review

Winter Edition , December 13th, 2015 This small volume antedates, but complements, the
 massive and magisterial The 
History of Bhutan by Karma
 Phuntsho. Karma Phuntsho 
drew upon it for his own
work (it is cited in his bibliography), but Karma Ura’s
 discussion of royal leader-ship stands on its own, and
any reader will benefit great
ly from its...

Biography Series on Jigme Namgyal and Druk Gyalpos: A Review

Winter Edition , December 13th, 2015 The publication of the biographies of Gongsa Jigme Namgyal and the four kings of Bhutan by the Centre for Bhutan Studies and GNH Research between 2008 and 2011 is a monumental undertaking. In all–1,478 pages spread over five volumes–the biography series is the biggest work of documentation on the...

The Nation, the State, the Nation-State: How do we talk about what we are?

Spring Edition , May 24th, 2015 You can download this Article as a PDF by clicking here Let us be very frank. “Identity” does not really exist, at least not as an external object, out there somewhere in material reality. This may seem like a harsh statement to some, but think about it! If I...

Who is a Bhutanese?

Spring Edition , May 24th, 2015 You can download this Article as a PDF by clicking here I recall that it was in New York in 1980, when I was Bhutan’s permanent representative and ambassador to the United Nations that Dale Djerassi1 interviewed me for the 1982 PBS documentary, Bhutan- A Strange Survival. One of the...