Sonam Kinga

He is currently a member of the teaching faculty at the Royal Institute of Governance and Strategic Studies (RIGSS). In addition, Sonam delivers talks to thousands of youths who undergo youth development training programs known as De-suung and Gaylsung. He is also a visiting research scholar at the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan.

He was earlier chairperson of Druk Gyalpo’s Institute, chairperson of De-suung Skilling Program, visiting research fellow at the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE) in Tokyo, and researcher at The Centre for Bhutan Studies.

His research interests focus on Bhutanese history, politics, culture, foreign relations, and oral literature. His works include Changes in Bhutanese Social Structure (2002), Polity Kingship and Democracy (2009), Democratic Transition in Bhutan (2019), and Missions from Dharmarajas to Gorkharajas: Bhutan-Nepal Relations since the 17th Century (2024) which were published by IDE, Bhutan’s Ministry of Education, Routledge and RIGSS respectively.