Political life in Bhutan
Until the 1960s, Bhutan had no roads or schools. Yet it took only 40 years for this former absolute monarchy to adopt its first constitution, in 2008, at the initiative of Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the 4th Druk Gyalpo. From this Constitution emerged a dynamic system of democratic governance, which has strengthened the sovereignty, peace and prosperity of the country. The kingdom is administered by a parliament composed of a sovereign, the Druk Gyalpo, a National Council or "Lhengye Zhungtshog", and a National Assembly, the "Tshogdu", founded in 1953, which has 47 deputies. The National Council, for its part, is composed of 25 members: one for each of the country's 20 "dzongkhag" (districts), plus five members appointed by the King. The King remains the head of state, although he can now be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the members of parliament. He no longer has executive or legislative power.
Bhutan's political scene is dominated by two parties: the PDP, the People's Democratic Party, from which the current Prime Minister is a member, and the DPT, the Virtue Party. In March 2008, for the first time in their history, 318 0000 Bhutanese were called to the polls in the country's 47 constituencies to take part in parliamentary elections and make their choice between these two parties, which are virtually identical in their proposals: strengthening the education and health systems, improving access to water, electricity and the road network. With 44 seats out of 47, it was the DPT that won the election, led by Jigme Thinley, who was very popular among the Bhutanese because he was close to the king, and who was therefore appointed Prime Minister. In 2013, on the other hand, for their second vote, the Bhutanese preferred to trust the leader of the Virtuous Party, Tshering Tobgay. Succeeding Jigme Thinley as Prime Minister, Tshering Tobgay openly questioned, as soon as he was elected, the discourse on Gross National Happiness, arguing that this policy had tended to smooth out the real problems facing Bhutan today: debt, poverty and youth unemployment.Foreign policy
In terms of external relations, Bhutan, which has long remained aloof from the rest of the world, has established very close relations with India. But in recent years, the Land of the Thunder Dragon seems to find Indian tutelage stifling. This is evidenced by the fuel crisis during the Bhutanese elections in 2013: India had then abolished its subsidies on the gas and kerosene it sold to Bhutan, which led to an explosion in the price of gas and petrol. A crisis linked to the rapprochement between Thimphu and Beijing. The Himalayan kingdom has long remained distrustful of China because of the conflict with Tibet, to which it has remained very close, and for the last ten years or so the Himalayan kingdom has been multiplying its cooperation with its Chinese neighbour through various cultural and political visits. This has further fuelled the battle for influence that the two Asian giants are waging in order to obtain favours from Bhutan. One thing is certain: the young democracy has yet to prove itself to the Bhutanese, who are worried about the development of corruption and impoverishment throughout the country.
The champion of the "responsible" economy
Bhutan's economy is among the smallest in the world. Agriculture, forestry, and more recently tourism and hydropower form the basis of the country's income as it has moved from an agrarian subsistence economy to a system of international trade over the past few decades. The exploitation of natural resources (wood, apples, peppers, etc.) remains the country's main source of income and provides a living for most of the population. Agriculture (which accounts for 16% of GDP) and animal husbandry occupy 40% of the population. Aware of the richness of its heritage, Bhutan has made the preservation of its environment a priority and one of the leitmotivs of the Gross National Happiness policy. The Land of the Thunder Dragon was the first non-smoking country in the world to ban the sale and distribution of tobacco in 2004. Plastic bags are banned, as are chemical pesticides and weed killers, and in 2020, Bhutan becomes the first country to produce 100% of its fruit and vegetables according to the principles of organic farming.
Tourism and electricity: the two pillars of the Bhutanese economy
Since the mid-1980s, energy production has become a major issue for the country. Bhutan currently has five hydropower plants and exports nearly 75% of its production, mainly to India, in addition to covering all its domestic consumption; six are under construction. The energy sector alone accounts for the largest share of GDP. Nevertheless, the Land of the Thunder Dragon wishes to abolish its dependence on fossil fuels by favouring electric cars. A real challenge for this country which has seen the size of its road network multiplied by six in 10 years, which has considerably increased the number of private vehicles on the roads. In addition to hydroelectric power, Bhutan's main source of income is the massive development of tourism. Forty-five years after it opened its doors to visitors, tourism has become the country's main service industry and accounts for a fifth of its resources. In 2018, there were 275,000 tourists to set foot on Bhutanese soil compared to 287 in 1974, i.e. 1,000 times more!
Since the early 2000s, tourism has experienced an unprecedented boom, with some 1,500 sworn agencies in the country today! But tourism that aims to have a low ecological impact. Always faithful to its desire to preserve its natural resources, the Bhutanese government wants to scrupulously control access to its territory by limiting the number of visitors to Bhutan each year and by setting a fixed daily rate that tourists must pay. This is a particularly profitable source of income for the kingdom.The issues today
Today, while the standard of living remains relatively low, the Thunder Dragon country boasts one of the fastest economic growth rates in South Asia. Bhutan's economic stakes are mainly linked to its continued development and the attraction of foreign capital. A rapid entry into modernity can explain a sometimes meticulous economic policy, particularly in the international trade sector. A policy that hinders the development of foreign investment. Bhutan therefore faces many challenges that it will have to address in the coming years, starting with the problem of rural exodus and the disaffection of the countryside for the cities, which consequently have a very high unemployment rate, especially among young people. Setting an example in environmental terms, the country will also have to reconcile its entry into the consumer society while safeguarding its culture and values. Another challenge is how to absorb the growing number of tourists, while at the same time providing infrastructure in line with international standards and the relatively high cost of visas.
