Dansk Resumé

I Bhutan er hemmeligholdelse en del af den politiske kultur. Det skaber samfundsmæssige tavsheder omkring politisk følsomme anliggender såsom etnicitet, statsborgerskab og intern konflikt i landet. Denne artikelbaserede afhandling stiller det overordnede spørgsmål: hvilke former for samfundsmæssig tavshed eksisterer i Bhutan og hvilke konsekvenser har de for landets politiske kultur?

I sin helhed karakteriserer afhandlingen hvordan regeringen opfordrer til tavshed gennem deres brug af tavshed som diplomatisk strategi. Informanters frygt for, hvordan autoriteter kan straffe de der opponerer, skaber forsigtig navigation omkring politisk sensitive anliggender. Informanter har, til trods for samfundsmæssig tavshed i Bhutan, dannet sig forskelligartede narrativer om politisk sensitive anliggender så som den interne konflikt, der udspillede sig i 1990erne. Disse narrativer eksisterer som parallelle forståelser af fortid og nutid og skaber splittelse i samfundet. Denne afhandling viser, at bhutanesiske borgere i stigende grad sætter spørgsmålstegn ved samfundsmæssig tavshed som eksisterer i den politiske kultur.

English abstract

In Bhutan, old codes of secrecy are part of the political culture. This creates societal silences around politically sensitive issues such as ethnicity, citizenship and the domestic conflict of the past. This article-based thesis raises the overall question: what forms of societal silence exist in Bhutan and what consequences do they have for the political culture of the country?

The thesis argues that the Bhutanese government encourages societal silence by employing silent diplomacy as a pattern of reaction both domestically and internationally. Informants’ fear of how authorities may punish anyone in open opposition inspires silence on these issues in the form of careful navigation around them. Despite societal silence, young Bhutanese have formed a multiplicity of narratives about sensitive issues such as the conflict of the 1990s. These narratives exist as parallel understandings of past and present, creating rifts in society. The thesis suggests that societal silence in the political culture is increasingly questioned by Bhutanese citizens.