Role of Bhutanese Media in Democracy: Case Study of General Election in 2013

Abstract

The Kingdom of Bhutan, located in the Himalayas, closed its doors to foreign countries until 1960s. After it opened, Bhutan started to be a modern state for a half century. In 2008, the King of Bhutan decided to democratize his country and convene the first Parliament. It was an unprecedented event in history.

On the other hand, there was no mass media in this tiny country until 1990s. In 1999, the King also decided to lift the ban on information technology like TV and Internet. It was rare case that TV broadcasting and Internet service started at the same time.

This paper shows that the history of democracy and information society in Bhutan and examines the correlation between them. Before that, theoretical stream of the relationship between democracy and information society in our modern history should be reviewed.

The main part of this paper must be the field research and analysis about the National Assembly election of Bhutan in 2013, as the case of practice for democracy. The research questions are as follows: what was the role of Bhutanese media in this election, what kind of information led Bhutanese voters to decision making. In conclusion, the theoretical model and Bhutanese practical model of the relationship between Government, Media, and Citizens are compared. And this comparison shows the progress of democracy and the role of media in Bhutan these days.