Development Challenges in Bhutan

Johannes Dragsbaek Schmidt is Associate Professor at Aalborg University, Denmark. He is Senior Expert at Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS), Copenhagen University, Denmark. He has held visiting research fellowships in Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Poland, and was recently a Visiting Professor at the Institute for Political Economy, Carleton University, Canada in 2009. Additionally he has been a consultant to UNESCO, the World Bank and the Irish Development Agency. He has a broad spectrum of research interests, varying from globalisation and international division of labour to social and welfare policy and state regulations with a focus on East and South-East Asia. He has been Director of Studies in International Affairs in Five years (1998-2003); Chairman and Board member of Nordic NIAS Council Nordic Institute for Asian Studies, 2004-2005 and 2009-2010.

• Chapter 1: Development Challenges in Bhutan - Perspectives on Inequality and Gross National Happiness.- Part 1: Comparing Bhutan’s Development Trajectories. - Chapter 2: Sociocultural and Political Change in Bhutan since the 1980s: Reflections from a Distance.- Chapter 3: Donor-assisted Ethno-Nationalism and Education Policy in Bhutan.- Part 2: GNH, Equality and Inclusion/Exclusion.- Chapter 4: Gross National Happiness and Inequality.- Chapter 5: Distress Migration and Individual Happiness in Bhutan.- Part 3: Culture, Legal issues and the Politics of Change.- Chapter 6: A Form of “Democratization Project” in Contemporary Bhutan: Being Apolitical and being Religious.- Chapter 7: Law, “Tradition” and Legitimacy: Contesting Driglam namzha.- Part 4: Governance and Integration.- Chapter 8: Between Hopeful Intentions and Disenchanting Constraints: Lessons Learned in Bhutan’s Nationwide E-Governance Initiative.- Chapter 9: Disaster Governance, Inequality and Poverty Alleviation in Bhutan: Towards integrated and preventive policies.- Part 5: Health, Food and Disparities.- Chapter 10: Regional Disparities and Food Problems in Bhutan.- Chapter 11: Policy Synergies in Health-Promoting Education in Bhutan.

“This is certainly an interesting book, and it brings to the surface much valuable information that should be useful for any scholar of the region, and in particular any lover of academic contested issues.” (Frank Rennie, Mountain Research and Development, Vol. 39 (3), 2020)