Joe Devine - Politics and Governance in Bangladesh (Routledge Studies in South Asian Politics)

Politics and Governance in Bangladesh

Since its Independence in 1971, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in terms of reducing poverty levels, achieving high levels of economic growth over a sustained period of time, and meeting its Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets set by the United Nations. With some justification, Bangladesh is considered an international development success story, and the country appears to be well on track to meet its policy target of becoming a middle-income country by 2021, the same year the country will celebrate 50 years of Independence.

This book explores the central issue of Bangladeshi politics: the weakness of governance. The coexistence of a poor governance track record and a relatively strong socioeconomic performance makes Bangladesh an intriguing case which throws up exciting and relevant conceptual and policy challenges. Structured in four sections Political Settlement, Elites and Deep Structures; Democracy, Citizenship and Values; Civil Society, Local Context and Political Change; Informality and Accountability the book identifies and engages with these challenges. Chapters by experts in the field share a number of conceptual and epistemological principles and offer a combination of theoretical and empirical insights, and cover a good range of contemporary issues and debate.

Employing a structurally determinist perspective, this book explains politics and society in Bangladesh from a novel perspective. Academics in the field of governance and politics in developing countries, with a focus on South Asia and Bangladesh, will welcome its publication.

Ipshita Basu is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Westminster, UK.

Joe Devine is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath, UK.

Geof Wood is Emeritus Professor of International Development and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Development Studies, University of Bath, UK.

Routledge Studies in South Asian Politics

1 Nepal and the Geo-Strategic Rivalry between China and India

Sanjay Upadhya

2 Security Community in South Asia

Muhammad Shoaib Pervez

3 Refugees and Borders in South Asia

The Great Exodus of 1971

Antara Datta

4 Indias Human Security

Lost Debates, Forgotten People, Intractable Challenges

Edited by Jason Miklian and Ashild Kolas

5 Poverty and Governance in South Asia

Syeda Parnini

6 USPakistan Relations

Pakistans Strategic Choices in the 1990s

Nasra Talat Farooq

7 Public Policy and Governance in Bangladesh

Forty Years of Experience

Nizam Ahmed

8 Separatist Violence in South Asia

A Comparative Study

Matthew J. Webb

9 Pakistans Democratic Transition

Change and Persistence

Edited by Ishtiaq Ahmad and Adnan Rafiq

10 Localizing Governance in India

Bidyut Chakrabarty

11 Government and Politics in Sri Lanka

Biopolitics and Security

A.R. Sriskanda Rajah

12 Politics and Governance in Bangladesh

Uncertain Landscapes

Edited by Ipshita Basu, Joe Devine and Geof Wood

Politics and Governance in Bangladesh

Uncertain Landscapes

Edited by Ipshita Basu, Joe Devine and Geof Wood

First published 2018

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2018 selection and editorial matter, Ipshita Basu, Joe Devine and Geof Wood; individual chapters, the contributors

The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial matter, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders for their permission to reprint material in this book. The publishers would be grateful to hear from any copyright holder who is not here acknowledged and will undertake to rectify any errors or omissions in future editions of this book.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Names: Basu, Ipshita, editor. | Devine, Joe, 1963 editor. | Wood, Geoffrey D., 1945 editor.

Title: Politics and governance in Bangladesh : uncertain landscapes / edited by Ipshita Basu, Joe Devine and Geof Wood.

Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2018. | Series: Routledge studies in South Asian politics ; 12 | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017011563| ISBN 9781138707610 (hardback) | ISBN 9781315201337 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: BangladeshPolitics and government1971|Political cultureBangladesh.

Classification: LCC JQ635 .P67 2018 | DDC 320.95492dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017011563

ISBN: 978-1-138-70761-0 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-20133-7 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman

by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear

In loving memory of Dr Jalal Alamgir. A generous, passionate and promising intellectual who was taken away much too soon.

Contents

IPSHITA BASU, JOE DEVINE AND GEOF WOOD

HARRY BLAIR

PIERRE LANDELL-MILLS

HABIBUL HAQUE KHONDKER

IPSHITA BASU, GRAHAM K. BROWN AND JOE DEVINE

GEOF WOOD

DAVID LEWIS

NAOMI HOSSAIN

JOE DEVINE, IPSHITA BASU AND GEOF WOOD

Ipshita Basu is Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in International Relations at the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Westminster. She is a political sociologist and her research specialises on the politics of identity and distributive justice in relation to development and governance, with a regional focus on South Asia. Her articles have appeared in Development and Change and Contemporary South Asia.

Joe Devine Head of Department and Senior Lecturer in International Development at the Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath. His main research lies in well-being, poverty and inequality.

Geof Wood is Emeritus Professor at the Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath. He is a sociologist, specialising in International Development with a regional focus on South Asia.

Harry Blair is Visiting Fellow in Political Science at the University of Yale. His research focuses on democratisation in developing countries, especially on civil society and decentralisation.

Graham K. Brown is based at the Department of Social Policy, University of Western Australia. He is a political scientist with interest in inequality and political mobilisation in South East Asia.

Naomi Hossain is Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex. She is a political sociologist and her work focuses on the politics of poverty and public services.