To vote, you sometimes have to walk for days. In Bhutan, the democratic exercise is of high order for the 800,000 inhabitants of this small landlocked kingdom between China and India. The country's Buddhist tradition invites calm and serenity, including during election campaigns. "Here, things don't say they're too strong," says Jean-Joseph Boillot, associate researcher at IRIS and author of the book Utopies made in monde (Odile Jacob, 2021).
In recent weeks, however, one topic has emerged during the parliamentary election campaign: the revival of the economy. The national philosophy of happiness, which has inspired public policy for more than 50 years, is being challenged by the challenges facing Bhutan. With falling tourism revenues and low growth, poverty and youth unemployment are on the rise in the "land of happiness". The next government has the ambition to bring back a smile, even if it means reforming an economic model that has reached its limits.
Following the election, the second round of which was held on 10 January, the Bhutanese inherited a new prime minister. It is the return to power of a "seasoned politician", in the words of the ethnologist Françoise Pommaret, a specialist in the country. At the age of 58, Tshering Tobgay is once again prime minister, a position he previously held between 2013 and 2018. His party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), won more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament. The Tender Party of Bhutan (BTP) won the rest.
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Rare enough to underline this, "these are democratic elections with political parties alternating in power," insists the French researcher, who has been living there for many years. But Bhutan is best known for a unique characteristic: being the only country in the world that does not use GDP to measure the weight of its economy, but GNH for "Gross National Happiness" (GNH).
Poverty, unemployment and youth migration
Conceived in 1972 by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck and enshrined in the 2008 Constitution, this index is based on the degree of satisfaction of citizens as a development indicator. But Françoise Pommaret warns that reality is totally different from the fantasized vision of "happy, blissful Bhutanese who meditate all day long". In reality, GNH is based on four pillars: good governance, environmental preservation, respect for culture and sustainable development. The harmonious articulation of these variables contributes to the "raw" happiness of Bhutanese citizens. But for all its good intentions, this model is now in crisis
Bhutan has been hit hard by the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has brought tourism, the main provider of capital in the Himalayan kingdom, to a screeching halt. Since 2020, the country has been facing a series of difficulties: a glaring lack of infrastructure, persistent poverty and unemployment that affects nearly 30% of young people. Many are leaving the country in search of economic opportunities in Australia, Japan or Canada.
For Jean-Joseph Boillot, there is a "scissor effect" between the slowdown in the economy, whose growth has stagnated at around 1.6% for the past 5 years, and this dissatisfaction of young Bhutanese who are struggling to find a job. From now on, "part of the population wants to give in to the sirens of productivism," notes the economist, for whom the subject of reforming the GNH has become "a real subject of debate."
It is still too early to predict the action of Tshering Tobgay's government, which promised "mountains and wonders" during its campaign, according to Françoise Pommaret. "There will be developments with incentives for the establishment of certain industries," he continues, "but the government, like the citizens, do not want polluting factories" like the special economic zone planned on the border with India to the south.
A city of mindfulness
Ecology remains at the heart of the "Gross National Happiness" strategy in one of the only countries in the world to have a negative carbon footprint, i.e. its capacity to absorb greenhouse gases is greater than its propensity to emit them. The forest, which covers 70% of the Himalayan territory, is protected by a very strict logging policy, as well as by national parks. "You have to keep in mind Bhutan's lush and diverse environment. We go from a high mountain biome in the Himalayas to tropical forests! " marvels Ms. Pommaret, who is also the author of a cultural guide to the country (Olizane, 2018). There is no question of going back on this key pillar of GNH.
Rather than cutting corners on the forest, we need to adapt. In any case, this is at the heart of the "mindfulness city" project. This city conceived and designed by the popular King Jigme Khesar Wangchuck, son of the creator of the BNB, combines economic development, ecological imperatives and Bhutanese spiritual tradition. Numerous parks and forests will border the places of worship and the various business or residential districts planned in this royal project located in the south of the country, not far from Gelephu, on the border with Indian Assam.
This location is no coincidence. Bhutan is closing in on India, to which the mountainous country already exports more than 70% of the energy produced by its hydroelectric dams. Much to the chagrin of China, which wants to integrate the kingdom into its new Silk Roads, dear to President Xi Jinping. "These two big neighbours who are vying for Bhutan's favour don't care about the approach in terms of happiness," says Jean-Joseph Boillot.
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But the economic system of the two geopolitical giants is not the envy of the Bhutanese population. Considering the inequalities generated by excessive productivism on both sides of the landlocked territory, these models give the image of a GDP reduced to a "Gross Interior Rot", in the words of the economist.
The Gross National Happiness approach does not, however, claim to be an example to be emulated. For Françoise Pommaret, "the historical or economic conditions of another country could not duplicate this kind of policy." The Bhutanese case, on the other hand, invites us to "question ourselves", the specialist continues, at a time when the search for growth clashes with the climate emergency. Something to think about.