Paper short abstract:

The centrality of elections for democracy and its consolidation in Bhutan will be discussed, stressing that they are the major driving force behind the country's successful democratization, while at the same time thinking about possible future challenges.

Paper long abstract:

While theories and definitions of democracy are diverse and differ considerably, elections are a constitutive part of all of them. However, when it comes to the significance and importance of elections for democratization and democratic consolidation. In minimalist conceptions of democracy it does not take much more than regularly holding free and fair elections, while for broader and more substantial approaches to democracy elections are all but one part of a complex set of institutions and rules and only one small step towards democracy.

Looking at elections in the Kingdom of Bhutan, this paper seeks to address what Terry Lynn Karl called "the fallacy of electoralism", by arguing in favor of the paramount centrality of elections for the success or failure of democratization and democratic consolidation. Especially within the region of South Asia it appears that it is elections, which are the center of contention and political conflict that leads to instability. And yet despite much doubt, in the case of Bhutan elections have been a main driving force of democratization and democratic consolidation, apparently stabilizing a new institutional framework for which there was no real demand in the first place.

This paper will assess elections in Bhutan and try to draw conclusions with regard to the questions of a) in what way elections contributed more than other factors to Bhutan's successful transition to democracy and continuing consolidation and b) what challenges elections might pose in the future for the further democratization of the country.