Researcher, Royal Institute of Governance and Strategic Studies, Bhutan
During his Science Diplomacy Fellowship, Sonam Kinga will be working on the project 'From a Hot Spot to a Hope Spot – Science Diplomacy and Bhutan’s Survival Between India and China'
Caught between the geopolitical rivalry of India and China and the disproportionate impacts of climate change, Bhutan faces intertwined geostrategic and geoclimatic vulnerabilities. Science diplomacy offers Bhutan a means to transcend asymmetric power relations and establish a collaborative climate framework with its two neighbours. Drawing on comparative regional experiences and climate governance mechanisms, Bhutan has the potential for trilateral cooperation on shared environmental challenges. Science diplomacy can enhance Bhutan’s agency and serve as a catalyst for broader Himalayan cooperation.
Sonam Kinga, a member of the teaching faculty at Bhutan’s Royal Institute for Governance and Strategic Studies, is also a 2025 World Fellow at Yale University. During Bhutan’s historic transition to democracy in 2008, he served as a member of the parliament for 10 years. His research focuses on Bhutan’s history, politics and foreign relations. His major publications are Democratic Transition in Bhutan, Routledge 2019, White Dragon and Red Dragon: Bhutan’s historical and geopolitical encounters with China, and The Contractual Monarchy: Modern Buddhist Kingship in Bhutan, RIGSS 2025 and 2026.
Project title: 'From a Hot Spot to a Hope Spot – Science Diplomacy and Bhutan’s Survival Between India and China'
Area of research: History, politics and foreign relations
Fellowship period: 1 Sep 2026 - 30 Jun 2027
Fellowship type: AIAS Science Diplomacy Fellow
Contact: TBA
This fellowship has received funding from The Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF)
