Elucidating the Sustainable Political Economy of Buddhist Nations (Jelden Par, May 2025)

What is it about?

This book is about the politics and Buddhism, whose core aspiration was succinctly put in the title “Elucidating the Sustainable Political Economy of Buddhist Nations.” This book elucidates the sustainable political economy framework for Buddhist nations. This book reviews the history of Buddhist canons from which the theory of political governance by Dharma Kings or the rule of religion emerged in Tibet. It focuses on the Dharma King governance in Tibet before the mid-20th century and the Maitreya revolutionaries in China who dreamed frequently of seizing ultimate political power. This book describes how the theocratic rule of Tibet by Buddhist monks or the Dalai Lama’s rule failed the Tibetan society tragically, persecuted Tibetan people through serfdom, and gave away Tibetan sovereignty.

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Photo by Jhan Castillón on Unsplash

Photo by Jhan Castillón on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Why is this needed at this point in time? History tells us that Buddhists have sometimes ventured to taking ultimate political power, often devastating the concerned Buddhist communities regardless of whether they were successful or unsuccessful. Further, there is widespread confusion among today’s Buddhists about politics, governance, democracy, and economics, clouding their judgments about the history as well as what the future holds. This book clarifies these two aspects. A successful completion of this will greatly contribute to people’s understanding of the political economy in Buddhist nations across Asia and to curious political scientists.