Politics
Democracy in Bangladesh: From Crisis to Sustainability
Haider A. Khan
Abstract
The main purpose of this paper is to examine the problems of democratization in Bangladesh in light of the crises of governance in that country in the 21st century. The theoretical framework is a somewhat novel theory of deep democracy from a political and social economy perspective. However, the major emphasis is on understanding the problems of democratization in Bangladesh concretely in light of the theory. The theory of deep democracy makes a distinction between formal aspects of democracy and the deeper structural aspects. In order for democracy to be deep, democratic practices have to become institutionalized in such a way that they become part of normal life in a democratic society. Cluster conditions for deep democracy include both cultural-political and socio-economic conditions. Clearly, even formal democracy has at best been fragile in Bangladesh and political crises have endangered even this modest prospect in the 21st century. However, social and political resources do exist within Bangladesh to make a viable attempt at restoring formal democracy and to take further steps to strengthen and deepen democracy there. Without underestimating the difficulties, the paper outlines a strategic agenda for the future. Introduction In times of crisis, there is an almost irresistible temptation to make pessimistic prognoses. Such pessimism is associated with an attitude that is supposed to reveal a hard headed realist‘s approach to the messy world of politics and economics. However, much of the hand wringing and dire predictions do not rely on anything beyond a generally dark and pessimistic outlook. Tragically, if there is enough darkness of outlook among large numbers of people, the dire predictions can become self-fulfilling. To avoid such tragedy, a sober, analytical approach that makes the best humanly possible attempt to take into account all sides of a complex crisis is
Haider A. Khan
Abstract
The main purpose of this paper is to examine the problems of democratization in Bangladesh in light of the crises of governance in that country in the 21st century. The theoretical framework is a somewhat novel theory of deep democracy from a political and social economy perspective. However, the major emphasis is on understanding the problems of democratization in Bangladesh concretely in light of the theory. The theory of deep democracy makes a distinction between formal aspects of democracy and the deeper structural aspects. In order for democracy to be deep, democratic practices have to become institutionalized in such a way that they become part of normal life in a democratic society. Cluster conditions for deep democracy include both cultural-political and socio-economic conditions. Clearly, even formal democracy has at best been fragile in Bangladesh and political crises have endangered even this modest prospect in the 21st century. However, social and political resources do exist within Bangladesh to make a viable attempt at restoring formal democracy and to take further steps to strengthen and deepen democracy there. Without underestimating the difficulties, the paper outlines a strategic agenda for the future. Introduction In times of crisis, there is an almost irresistible temptation to make pessimistic prognoses. Such pessimism is associated with an attitude that is supposed to reveal a hard headed realist‘s approach to the messy world of politics and economics. However, much of the hand wringing and dire predictions do not rely on anything beyond a generally dark and pessimistic outlook. Tragically, if there is enough darkness of outlook among large numbers of people, the dire predictions can become self-fulfilling. To avoid such tragedy, a sober, analytical approach that makes the best humanly possible attempt to take into account all sides of a complex crisis is