Democratic transition in Bhutan : political contests as moral battles / Sonam Kinga.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kinga, Sonam, author.

Contributor:

Rosengarten Family Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bhutan--Politics and government--21st century.

Bhutan.

Democracy--Bhutan.

Democracy.

Democratization--Bhutan.

Democratization.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xiv, 292 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 25 cm

Edition:

First South Asia edition

Distribution:

New Delhi : Manohar Publishers & Distributors, 2020

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2020.

Summary:

"This book studies how a modern monarchy transformed Bhutan into a parliamentary democracy. A political ethnography, it focuses on the historic elections of 2007-2008, and studies democracy and its transformational processes from the ground-up. It draws on historical as well as contemporary theories about kingship and regime change to analyse Bhutan's nascent democratic process and reflect on the direction of political change, both at the state and local levels in the aftermath of the elections. It also presents insights into the electoral and political process by giving a firsthand account of the author's own participation in the elections and ponders on the larger political implications of this election for the region. A strong theoretical discussion situated in robust fieldwork and personal experience, this book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of politics, especially comparative politics and political institutions, South Asian and Himalayan Studies, political sociology and social anthropology"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Revisiting Theories of Kingship and Democratic Transition

The Constitution: Royal Gift or Public Responsibility? Setting the Discourse for

Democracy

Election Commission and Electoral Laws: Oscillating between "Rational" and

"Magical" Modes

Mock Elections: The Practice of an Idea

National Council Elections: A National Idiom for Conducting Local Arguments

Assembly Elections as Moral Battle: Moralizing of Politics

Electoral Costs and Losses: Miscalculation, Misinformation and Misunderstanding

Powerless Government? Contesting Royal Prerogatives and Projects

Convention of 19 July '13: Manifesting Affective Polarisation

The Monarch above Politics: Kingship and Democratic Consolidation

Disjunction, Continuity and Transformation.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Rosengarten Family Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Kinga, Sonam, Democratic transition in Bhutan

ISBN:

9780367463953 (hbk)

0367463954 (hbk)

9780429328268 (ebk)

0429328265 (ebk)

OCLC:

1341652796