Politics of gross national happiness : image and practice in the implementation of Bhutan's multidimensional development strategy

The Gross National Happiness (GNH) policies governance framework brings together an historically strong and centralized state with non-state actors, decentralized levels of government and international donors. The official construction of GNH is explicitly rooted in Buddhist values tied to a national cultural identity associated with the culture of the Drukpa majority. Diverse implementation practices threaten to undermine GNH yet often still generate outcomes consistent with original GNH policy intentions The study comparatively analyzes four GNH policies – media, tourism, farm roads and human/wildlife conflict – and the GNH governance tools that seek to shape their implementation.Doctor of Philosoph