Project description
A closer look at Bhutan’s uncommon response to COVID-19
When COVID-19 struck and swept across the world, it revealed deep inequalities and tested the crisis playbooks of governments. The response of Bhutan, a small Himalayan kingdom, gained popular attention. Though its 2008 constitution separated religion and state, the Central Monk Body prominently stepped into a frontline role during the pandemic. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CRISIS project seeks to answer this question: how does a nation rooted in Buddhist governance navigate modern crises when old and new systems collide? Through immersive fieldwork, the project uncovers how Bhutan’s state monasteries shape crisis management and governance structure. Beyond Bhutan’s borders, these insights challenge hegemonic Western ideas of governance, suggesting fresh ways to rethink leadership in times of crisis.
Objective
This project aims to expand understanding of workable governance models in times of crisis through an ethnographic study of the role of Bhutan’s Central Monk Body (CMB) in ongoing management of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic markedly increased global inequalities, and its socio-economic effects are still being felt in Bhutan. Within this crisis situation, structures of state power are being renegotiated. Bhutan’s historical Buddhist governance model was based on a seamless union between religion and state. The 2008 constitution created a separation between the two, removing the monk body from government. Yet monks seem to be playing a prominent, but little understood, role in Bhutan’s ongoing ‘whole-of-society’ crisis response. This project explores the questions this raises about the workability of Bhutan’s secularist governance model, derived primarily from the Christian West. It also brings this case into dialogue with decolonial research in religious studies, anthropology and governance studies to address the broader question of how governance can be (re)imagined to mitigate crises in resource-poor nations. Bhutan’s acclaimed success in pandemic management and its status as the only sovereign state in the Tibetan and Himalayan region makes it an important case. Yet it is one of the world’s least ethnographically studied places. Drawing on my experience, knowledge and networks as a former government researcher in Bhutan and native anthropologist trained in the West, I will: a) conduct fieldwork to document the CMB’s role in crisis management; b) analyse what this reveals about governance in practice through the lens of Bhutan’s historical Buddhist governance model; c) assess the broader implications for workable governance in times of crisis; and d) apply the findings in policy recommendations. Skills and experience gained through this timely project will facilitate my transition into practice-oriented research as the next stage in my career.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- humanities philosophy, ethics and religion religions eastern religions
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health epidemiology pandemics
- social sciences sociology anthropology
- social sciences sociology governance crisis management
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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