King Jigme Singye Wangchuck

(Newser) - The king of Bhutan decided 20 years ago to start measuring his people's well-being—dubbed Gross National Happiness—but he never quite figured out how to quantify the national mood. With the Bhutan's first democratic election on Monday, and modernization transforming the long-isolated country, a commission has been charged with...

(Newser) - The tiny Buddhist nation of Bhutan held a mock election Saturday in preparation for the transition from monarchy to democracy set for next year. The yellow thunder dragon defeated its blue, green, and red counterparts in the vote, a test run for the latest reform advocated by modernization-minded King Jigme...