Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) is often dismissed by its critics as being an instrument for policy elites to address ‘national security concerns’ that started to threaten their grasp on the state around the turn of the millennium. This study problematizes this line of criticism that relegates GNH to an ‘invented tradition’ of recent origin. For this purpose, this study draws on Roy Wagner’s notion of ‘invention’ that draws attention to how various sets of meanings are brought together. A historical analysis of the country’s development plans points to several origins of GNH, including ‘Buddhism and Bhutan’s traditional socio-economic system’ and ‘outside concepts’ holding sway in international debates on development. GNH has undergone a long and gradual process of elaboration in view of Buddhist mores and development discourses, while also taking into account national security concerns. This study concludes by warning against the reductionistic stance of GNH critics, in favour of a more balanced perspective that captures the multiplicity of the origins of GNH.

不丹的国民幸福总值 (GNH) 经常被批评者认为是政策精英解决“国家安全问题”的工具，而“国家安全问题”在世纪之交开始威胁到他们对国家的掌控。这项研究对这种将 GNH 归类为最近起源的“发明传统”的批评路线进行了质疑。为此，本研究借鉴了罗伊·瓦格纳 (Roy Wagner) 的“发明”概念，该概念提请注意各种含义是如何组合在一起的。对该国发展计划的历史分析指出了 GNH 的几个起源，包括“佛教和不丹的传统社会经济体系”和在国际发展辩论中占据主导地位的“外部概念”。GNH从佛教的教义和发展话语上经历了一个漫长而渐进的阐述过程，同时也考虑到国家安全问题。本研究最后警告反对 GNH 批评者的还原论立场，支持更平衡的观点，以捕捉 GNH 起源的多样性。