Sonam, Kinga

Sonam, Kinga
部門・職位
環境共生研究部門
招へい研究員
専門
State-building in Bhutan
Bhutan’s relations with India, China and Nepal
Democratic politics in Bhutan
研究分野/キーワード
State-society relations, Democracy, Geopolitics, Buddhism and Culture

Sonam, Kinga

Buddhist Monastic Reforms amidst Socio-economic and Political Modernisation in Bhutan

Bhutan is a Buddhist state, although Buddhism is not a state religion. Among the Buddhist schools, Kagyu and Nyingma are predominant. The Central Monastic Body of the Drukpa Kagyu School, known as Zhung Dratshang, is one of the most important public institutions. Its influence on society and governance has been long and profound. It was first founded in 1622 with thirty monks. It thereafter became the primary institution for providing political leadership, training and education, the conduct of state rituals and promotion of Drukpa Kagyu School of Buddhism. It flourished under Palden Druk Zhung or the Buddhist Government of Drukpa Kagyu school, which was founded around 1627 and lasted till 1907 when the monarchy was established. Nonetheless, it continued as the state’s monastic arm enjoying royal patronage. The new Constitution guaranteed state support. Its primary responsibility today is to preserve and promote Buddhism. It also enjoys the privileged responsibility of presiding over the enthronement of the successive monarchs of Bhutan and serving as priest-officiant for state rituals.

It re-acquired specific political roles in the 1950s and 1960s with representation in the new legislature. But then, it was made apolitical during the introduction of parliamentary democracy in 2008. The conscious response of Zhung Dratshang to Bhutan’s socio-economic modernisation and political reforms has not been studied thus far. My research seeks to answer the following questions. How did it negotiate with the state concerning its roles and responsibilities leading to the drafting and promulgation of the Constitution in 2008? What kind of spaces and agency did it have to negotiate and reformulate its position? How did its responses to socio-economic and political modernization enable it to continue its most important function of promoting Buddhism, providing spiritual services and officiating for state functions and events?

専門分野

a. State-building in Bhutan
Bhutan is an old state, but state-building is a continuing national project. The priorities of state-building are influenced by its geopolitical location between two giant neighbours, India and China, and the need to survive as a sovereign nation by projecting a distinct national identity. In this ongoing research, I study the historical and contemporary processes that shape and define the essential constituents of the Bhutanese state such as territory, citizens, monarchy and its international personality.

b. Bhutan’s relations with India, China and Nepal
Bhutan may be a small country, but its geopolitical significance is vast due to its location between two rising and competing powers. Its relations with the two powers and smaller neighbours such as Bangladesh and Nepal have versatile character. In the larger academia and mainstream media, Bhutan is represented as a construct of competing power relations. It is denied agency. My research seeks to recast these bilateral and multi-lateral relations from a Bhutanese perspective and re-centre its agency in shaping foreign policies.

c. Democratic politics in Bhutan
As an academic, I am interested in democratic politics with a particular focus on the process of transition and consolidation. However, I am also a practitioner, having participated in elections and represented people in parliament for ten years. I look at both the institutional dynamics of the democratic process and the local, ethnic and cultural aspects of society and politics, which shape and determine the experience of democracy in Bhutan.