Donor-assisted Ethno-Nationalism and Education Policy in Bhutan

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Abstract

This chapter aims to give an elaborate understanding of the raison d’être of the vertical and horizontal links between the overall planning and policy-making ideology and objectives. This is exemplified with reference to an analysis of education policies and government promotion of GNH, Bhutanization, decentralization and guided democracy. The first part gives an overview of what can be defined as ‘dependency through self-reliance and selection’. The second part deals with the vernaculars of ethnic nationalism as a means to establish Drukpa national and cultural unity as a vehicle for modernization and progress. This section also looks at the ideology of Bhutanisation and how it is linked with GNH, decentralization and the introduction of democracy and good governance. The third focuses on the function of education policies and analyzes links and synergies at the level of discursive input into planning to discern the intent and possible output of education policies. Finally, some concluding remarks are offered.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDevelopment Challenges in Bhutan : Perspectives on Inequality and Gross National Happiness
EditorsJohannes Dragsbæk Schmidt
Place of PublicationBerlin
PublisherSpringer
Publication date2017
Pages29-46
Chapter3
Commissioning bodyDanida / Danish Foreign Ministry
ISBN (Print)978-3-319-47924-8
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-319-47925-5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017
SeriesContemporary South Asian Studies
ISSN2509-4173

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