December 1, 2004 ☼ Foreign Affairs
India claims to be the world’s biggest democracy, and claims to have the world’s longest constitution (at least until Alabama achieves self-determination). Neighbouring Bhutan seeks to be the world’s smallest democracy (strictly speaking, a constitutional monarchy) with perhaps the world’s smallest constitution. Small it may be, but King Jigme Singye Wangchuk wants the document to be ‘slick and comprehensive’.
What the Bhutanese constitution-makers are chewing on is whether to go in for the entertainment-oriented multi-party democracy, or a partyless system where people elect independent candidates. While it has been (wrongly) described as ‘direct democracy’, a partyless system is bound to allow the King a greater amount of control. That, however, may not be an unintended outcome.
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