The Bhutanese Leading the way.
As a small landlocked country further hemmed in by high mountains and deep valleys, we Bhutanese like to mind our own business and keep to our local affairs.
However, in an interconnected and fast changing world it is important for Bhutan to not only keep up to date with international developments, but also prepare to avoid the pitfalls or grab opportunities.
This is even more imperative as Bhutan opens up to the world of international finance, commerce and investments through the Gelephu Mindfulness City project and Bhutan’s general push for more investments and business.
An important change to note is that the old international order and way of doing things are undergoing profound changes.
This is because the main linchpin or foundation that has shaped and held up the international order after the Second World War and especially after the Cold War in the form of the USA is now withdrawing from the global stage and looking inwards.
The USA has always had a nativist tendency and politics on the right which was suppressed since the Cold War, but it has now emerged stronger than ever in the form of the Trump Presidency.
As the world’s largest economy and the de facto world leader the USA pumps in the maximum funds into several international agencies that Bhutan benefits from which is everything from the United Nations and its many agencies to the World Bank.
A US intent on looking inwards and withdrawing or cutting down its role in these agencies will impact Bhutan like the WHO withdrawal already has.
Apart from the US, the West is seeing the rise of right wing politics that is against internationalism and wants to focus only on its own country and people. The right wing politics are also driven by the losers of globalization and the inability of globalization to share it fruits more equitably even in the richest countries as wealth is concentrated upwards.
The increasingly anti-immigrant stance of western countries is a form of scape goat blaming foreigners for domestic economic and social problems.
Be it in Europe or in Asia the middle powers are intent on arming up for possible conflict in the future especially as the USA’s protective shield is withdrawn, and this may impact on developmental assistance to Bhutan in the future.
We have to be prepared for an increasingly uncertain world.
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin
