The GNH-AI Sovereignty Paradox: Bhutan Has Built Sovereign Digital Infrastructure on Foreign Constitutional Architecture

Abstract

Bhutan has deployed a blockchain-based national identity system on Ethereum and issued a gold-backed sovereign token, while simultaneously developing a National AI Strategy 2025 that requires AI governance to align with Gross National Happiness constitutional principles. Ethereum protocol governance is conducted by the Ethereum Foundation and developer community without Bhutanese constitutional participation. This paper documents the constitutional command gap between Bhutan's GNH governance philosophy and the technical infrastructure on which its digital sovereignty depends, and presents the Fijishi Sovereign Identity Framework, Sovereign Algorithmic Immunity Doctrine, and Institutional Failover Charter as the constitutional command layer that ensures GNH principles govern AI and digital systems regardless of the underlying protocol architecture.