Comparative Politics: Bhutan's Political System and Development

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Bhutan, a landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas. It delves into Bhutan's geography, including its mountainous terrain and river systems, and its demographics, such as its population distribution, ethnic groups, and literacy rates. The report explores Bhutan's historical development, tracing its origins and the influence of Buddhism on its political landscape. It examines the country's current political system, which is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy, and details the roles of the King, Prime Minister, Cabinet, and Parliament. The report also discusses Bhutan's party system, national identity, and the environmental and social challenges it faces, such as climate change and waste disposal, concluding with an overview of Bhutan's peaceful elections and the government's role in providing services and resources to its population. The report uses several academic references to support its claims.

Running head: COMPARATIVE POLITICS 1
Comparative Politics
Name
Institution

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COMPARATIVE POLITICS
Bhutan is a small as well as landlocked State situated in the Eastern Himalaya. Bhutan is
surrounded by India, Bangladesh, China, and Nepal. The country is enriched with unique
traditions and culture thus making it a very distinctive State in the World. This paper discusses
things that deal with Bhutan as a country.
Major Geographic as well as Demographics features
Bhutan is a craggy land of deep valleys and steep mountains that is clearly separated into
3 key geographical areas. It is situated towards the eastern side of the mountain range of
Himalayas. The country’s territory totals an estimate of 46,500 km2 (Allison, 2019). Due to its
landlocked status, the nation has no control of territorial water. Many of the mountain peaks that
are found in northern Bhutan have a height of approximately 7000 meters. The highest point of
Bhutan is Kamari with a height of 7,554m. (24,783ft). There are numerous small rivers in
Bhutan, including the Mangde, Dangme, Torsa, and Sankosh. The country’s lowest point is
known as Drangwe Chhu River which reaches a height of 318 ft. The country is also separated
into 20 districts (dzongkhags). Districts are further divided into 205 village blocks (gewogs).
Village blocks are further separated into numerous municipalities (thromdes) for administration.
According to the Royal Government of Bhutan the total population in 2003 was 752,700.
The 2019 approximated population of Bhutan stays at 826,229, which ranks the country at
number 164 of the most populous State in the Universe (Dahiya, 2012). The last census of this
country was done in 2005 displaying a population of a proximately 634,900. Most people from
Bhutan belong to the Sharchops and Ngalops, or Eastern and Western Bhutanese. The
southerners, or Lhotshampa, are a group mainly of Nepali descent. In the year 2006, the
researchers ranked the country as one of the happiest nations in Asia (Herrero, Martínez &

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Villar, 2019). The literacy rate of Bhutan is approximately 60 percent with 25 years old as a
median age. 75 percent of the total population is Buddhist, 22 percent are Hindu, 2% folk
religion and 1 percent other religions. In 2007, the population growth rate was 1.07 percent.
Historical development of Bhutan
The early history of Bhutan stands steeped in mythology as well as remains obscure.
Many of the structure offer evidence that the area has been occupied in the early 2000BC. Some
of the legends argued that the region was ruled by a king, around the seventh century BC
(Bandyopadhyay, 2009). In the 12th century, an institution known as Drukpa Kagyupa was
established in the region. Currently, this school is the main form of Buddhism. The political
history of the country depends on its religious history as well as relations among different
monastic schools as well as monasteries (Wen-long, 2011). The country was never occupied,
governed, or conquered by any outside power. Even though most researchers claim that Bhutan
was under the Tibetan Empire or the Kamarupa kingdom in the 7th century, there is no firm
evidence. There are clear records that show that Bhutan has successfully and continuously
defended its sovereignty. The civil wars that broke out in the region made the regional governors
to become the most powerful leaders in the region. In the nineteenth century, Trongsa Governor
was recognized as the leader of Bhutan. Currently, Bhutan is under a system of constitutional
monarchy.
Political system
Bhutan political system has evolved over the past years together with its culture and
tradition. Currently, it has a parliamentary democracy (Turner, Chuki & Tshering, 2011). Bhutan
remains a democratic, constitutional monarchy. The king is the head of State. The executive
power is in the hand of the Cabinet, led by the prime minister. The first general election of

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Bhutan for the National Assembly was held in 2008 (Bothe, 2012). According to the observers of
the European Union, the election was free and fair, even though the team identified problems
with freedom of association and expression during the campaign
Political institution
The institution which has the power to enforce, create as well as applicable laws in
Bhutan is the Government. Bhutan’s government still remains a constitutional monarchy
(Lawoti, 2010). The prime minister is the head of the executive. The king is the head of State.
The executive
The power of the executive is being exercised by the council of ministers, or Lhengye
Zhungtshog, led by the Prime Minister (Turner, Chuki & Tshering, 2011). The council of
ministers controls the power of the executive. The prime minister also chairs the council of
ministers or Lhengye Zhungtshog. Currently, there are a total of Ten Bhutanese ministers in
control of various departments and ministries. The king seeks advice from the council of
ministers and the prime minister, particularly on international matters (Pal, 2018). The council is
answerable to the king and the legislature. The prime minister of Bhutan is being nominated by
the party with the majority seats in the parliament (the national assembly).
The Legislature
The parliament of the Bhutanese is bicameral, comprising of a national assembly and the
national council. The legislative branch of the government is being elected through universal
suffrage. The legislature of Bhutan features the national council and the National Assembly. The
lower house has a total of 55 seats representing constituencies (Wangmo, 2018). The parliament
of the country retains the power of enacting laws as well as keeping the ministers and kings in
check. The election in Bhutan is being organized after every five years.

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Judicial system
The 1st court of appeal is the high court, and the Supreme Court represents the final
appeal. The Supreme Court possesses the original power over constitutional questions as well as
issues of national importance (Seidman & Seidman, 2018). The high and Supreme Court judges
are chosen by the King.
Type of governance
The government of Bhutan is categorized as a parliamentary, constitutional monarchy,
unitary. Under this system, the head of state of Bhutanese remains a hereditary monarch. The
political powers of the king are controlled by a constitution. Bhutan has an elected government, a
written constitution as well as parliament in power.
Party system
Bhutan has a multi-party system. This is where there are many political parties in the
country and all of them are running for national election (Mathou, 2017). Currently, it has 5
registered political parties. These political parties include PDP (People’s Democratic Party),
DPT (Druk Phuensum Tshogpa), BKP (Bhutan Kuen-Nyam Party), DNT (Druk Nyamrup
Tshogpa), and DCT (Druk Chirwang Tshogpa). In Bhutan, referenda, and political parties are
supervised by the election commission. The election commission is the regulatory agency of the
government.
National identity and Ethnic
Bhutan’s society comprises of four ethnic groups: the Sharchop, the Ngalop, Nepalese,
and several aboriginal people (Nath, 2018). The Ngalop are individuals of Tibetan origin. They
are often mentioned as Bhote. They are concentrated in northern and western districts. The
Ngalop introduced Buddhism and culture to Bhutan. The Sharchop are Indo-Mongoloid. The

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Sharchop occupied most of the eastern part of Bhutan. This group practice tsheri agriculture. The
3 groups are made up of small aboriginal people staying in scattered villages all over Bhutan.
The last group is known as Nepalese. In the 1980s, the government indicated that 28% of the
total population in Bhutan was Nepalese (Singh, 2017). The majority of the Nepalese population
occupied the southern part of Bhutan.
Bhutan’s National identity comprises of the national emblem, national flag, Cupressus
torolusa, and national anthem (Dendup et al. 2018). Other distinctive symbols include the
Bhutanese monarchy, the national language, as well as driglam namzha. Bhutan’s national
symbols include Himalayan blue poppy, the national flower, the Himalayan cypress, its national
tree, the raven, its national birds, as well as its national animal.
Current issues as well as its challenges
Bhutan is facing a number of environmental problems/issues (Hasnat et al. 2018). The
most pressing issues in Bhutan are flock and crop protection, traditional firewood collection, as
well as waste disposal. There are also modern concerns, for example, wildlife conservation,
biodiversity, climate change, and industrial pollution that threaten the general population of
Bhutan (Wangchuk et al. 2015). Water and land have also become current issues in both urban
and rural settings.
Development activities in Bhutan increased industrialization, urbanization, quarrying and
mining, and agriculture. Habitat loss, land degradation, human-wildlife conflicts, consumption of
high fuel-wood, and biodiversity are some of the environmental challenges of Bhutan (Chhogyel
& Kumar, 2018).
From this paper, it is true that Bhutan population conduct peaceful election after every
five years and that is the reason why there is peace in all country. I can also say that Bhutan’s

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government provides people with the necessary goods and services. I can also say that the
country has adequate natural resources and thus enable the government to improve the life of all
the population.

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References
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Bhutan. Religions, 10(4), 268.
Bandyopadhyay, L. (2009). Indo–Bhutanese Relations: A Historical Perspective. Global India
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Bothe, W. (2012). The monarch’s gift: critical notes on the constitutional process in
Bhutan. European Bulletin of Himalayan Research, 40(Spring–Summer), 27-58.
Chhogyel, N., & Kumar, L. (2018). Climate change and potential impacts on agriculture in
Bhutan: a discussion of pertinent issues. Agriculture & Food Security, 7(1), 79.
Dahiya, B. (2012). Cities in Asia, 2012: Demographics, economics, poverty, environment and
governance. Cities, 29, S44-S61.
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