The Politics of Gross National Happiness Image and Practice in the Implementation of Bhutan’s Multidimensional Development Strategy by Kent Schroeder A Thesis presented to the University of Guelph In partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science and International Development Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Kent Schroeder, April, 2014 ABSTRACT THE POLITICS OF GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS Kent Schroeder Advisor: University of Guelph, 2014 Craig Johnson This study investigates the practices of governance in Bhutan and how they shape the agency of diverse actors involved in implementing development policies related to the country’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) strategy. It examines whether Bhutan’s GNH governance framework is able to shape the politics of policy implementation in a manner that generates multidimensional development outcomes that are consistent with GNH policy intentions. Using an analytical lens rooted in the state-in-society approach, the study comparatively analyzes four GNH policies – media, tourism, farm roads and human/wildlife conflict – and the GNH governance tools that seek to shape their implementation. Semi-structured individual and focus group interviews were undertaken with 157 state and non-state governance actors supplemented by site visits, participant observation and document analysis. The findings demonstrate several interconnected themes. First, GNH policy implementation is a complex process of conflictive, cooperative and isolating practices characterized by fractured expressions of power. Governance actors have different degrees of influence in different policy fields, geographic regions or constellations of governance actors. These fractured expressions of power are not shaped in any meaningful way by GNH governance instruments. Nor are they rooted in a common understanding of GNH itself. Nonetheless, the development outcomes that emerge often reflect original GNH policy intentions. A common commitment to a set of cultural values – the same values that underlie the official construction of GNH – harmonize fractured expressions of power in a way that is largely consistent with GNH. These values and their outcomes, however, are often not recognized as being connected to GNH. The result is the frequent achievement of GNH policy outcomes yet the fraying of the image of the Bhutanese state as a coherent GNH state. Two broader insights emerge from these findings. They further an understanding of agency in the operationalization of multidimensional development approaches such as the human development paradigm. First, the expression of power understood as fragmented and complex needs to infuse the foundation of an understanding of agency. Second, the potential role of cultural values as a harmonizing, yet evolving, constraint on fragmented expressions of power must be recognized in the pursuit of multidimensional development policies. For Shrub. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Numerous people were instrumental in the process of writing this thesis. At the University of Guelph I would like to thank my supervisor, Craig Johnson, for his on-going support and insight. The breadth and depth of knowledge that Craig brought was not only critical for shaping my own thinking, but was inspirational in its demonstration of what an academic career can be. A big thank you as well to the members of my thesis advisory committee, Adam Sneyd, Brian Woodrow and Barry Smit, for their on-going input and insightful comments on the thesis. I’d also like to express my appreciation to Sally Humphries, David MacDonald and Mark Sproule-Jones. The work that occurred in each of their courses had a critical influence in shaping this thesis. Thank you to Jordi Díez of the University of Guelph and Arjan de Haan of IDRC for taking the time to read my thesis and participating in my thesis defence. I also owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the Royal Institute of Management in Bhutan for the key role its faculty and staff played in making this study possible. Thank you to Director Karma Tshering for his generosity in welcoming me to carry out the research based at the institute. Sonam Chuki provided ongoing advice and input that was invaluable in gaining a more nuanced understanding of the Bhutanese development context. The data collection process could not have occurred as it did without the efficient and effective logistical work carried out by Lebo. No thank you is large enough to represent my gratitude to Jit Tshering. Without Jit’s guidance, support and advice, none of this would have happened. Also in Bhutan I would like to thank Nancy Strickland who was an always willing source of welcome, insight and hospitality. I’d also like to thank Michael Hatton for his many years of guidance and support. Without his encouragement to explore new things, my interest in Bhutan might have never emerged. And, of course, the biggest debt of gratitude is owed to Korice - the chippy and the chappy. This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada. Information on the Centre is available on the web at idrc.ca. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii DEDICATION iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv LIST OF BOXES vii LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF ACRONYMS viii GLOSSARY OF DZONGKHA TERMS xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE: THE RESEARCH PROBLEM CHAPTER 2: THE AGENCY GAP 12 PART TWO: ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODS CHAPTER 3: A FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSIS 39 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODS 48 PART THREE: GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS: IMAGE AND PRACTICE CHAPTER 5: GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS 58 CHAPTER 6: THE GNH GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK 78 PART FOUR: IMPLEMENTING FOUR GNH POLICIES CHAPTER 7: MEDIA POLICY 106 CHAPTER 8: TOURISM POLICY 146 v CHAPTER 9: FARM ROAD POLICY 187 CHAPTER 10: HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT POLICY 232 CHAPTER 11: THE GNH GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK: BRIDGING IMAGE AND PRACTICES? 277 PART FIVE: CONCLUSION CHAPTER 12: GNH, AGENCY AND THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT PARADIGM 295 BIBLIOGRAPHY 310 APPENDICES 342 APPENDIX A: THE GNH INDEX 343 APPENDIX B: GNH POLICY SCREENING TOOL 345 APPENDIX C: PROTOCOL FOR POLICY FORMULATION 352 APPENDIX D: GNH PROJECT SCREENING TOOL 355 APPENDIX E: GNH CHECK 360 vi LIST OF BOXES Box 1: Key Actors in Media Policy Implementation 114 Box 2: Key Actors in Tourism Policy Implementation 151 Box 3: Tourism: Gross Receipts & Contribution to Government Revenues (Select Years) 179 Box 4: 10th FYP RBM Results Framework for Farm Roads 191 Box 5: Key Actors in Farm Road Policy Implementation 196 Box 6: ICDP Objectives & Strategies 241 Box 7: Key Actors in Human-Wildlife Conflict Strategy Implementation 243 Box 8. Common Themes Across the Four Policy Fields 300 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Map of Bhutan 61 Figure 2: International Tourist Arrivals (2000-2012) 178 Figure 3: Poverty and Subsistence Headcount 2007 (% of population) 188 Figure 4: Protected Areas and Biological Corridors 235 vii LIST OF ACRONYMS ABTO Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators BBS Bhutan Broadcasting Service BCMD Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy BICMA Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority BMF Bhutan Media Foundation BNA Basic Needs Approach CDG Constituency Development Grant CSO Civil Society Organization CFMG Community Forest Management Group DA Dzongkhag Administration DANIDA Danish International Development Agency DAO Dzongkhag Agriculture Officer DE Dzongkhag Engineer DEnvO Dzongkhag Environment Officer DFO Dzongkhag Forest Officer DLG Department of Local Governance DLO Dzongkhag Livestock Officer DoA Department of Agriculture DoFPS Department of Forests and Parks Services DoIM Department of Information and Media DoR Department of Roads DPO Dzongkhag Planning Officer DT Dzongkhag Tshogdu (District Government) DYT Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogdu (District Development Committee) ECB Election Commission of Bhutan ECOSOC Economic and Social Council viii EU European Union FNCA Forest and Nature Conservation Act FYP Five Year Plan GA Gewog Administration GAB Guide Association of Bhutan GAO Gewog Administrative Officer GCC Gewog Conservation Committee GDP Gross Domestic Product GNH Gross National Happiness GNHC Gross National Happiness Commission GNHI Gross National Happiness Index GNP Gross National Product GA Gewog Administration GT Gewog Tshogde (Block Government) GYT Gewog Yargye Tshogchung (Block Development Committee) HDI Human Development Index HWC Human-Wildlife Conflict ICDP Integrated Conservation and Development Programme JAB Journalists Association of Bhutan JICA Japanese International Cooperation Agency MDG Millennium Development Goal MoAF Ministry of Agriculture and Forests MoIC Ministry of Information and Communication NCD Nature Conservation Division NCWC National Commission for Women and Children NEC National Environment Commission NRED Nature Recreation and Ecotourism Division Nu Ngultrum (Bhutanese currency) ix OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development PEMS Public Expenditure Management System PLaMS Planning and Monitoring System PQLI Physical Quality of Life Index RBM Results Based Management TCB Tourism Council of Bhutan UN United Nations UNDP United National Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNRISD United Nations Research Institute for Social Development URFB United Revolutionary Front-Bhutan WCD Wildlife Conservation Division WWF World Wide Fund for Nature x GLOSSARY OF DZONGKHA TERMS Chiwog Village Drukpa Majority population of Tibetan and Indo-Mongolian origin Dzongdag District Chief Executive Dzongkha National language; language of