Bangladesh’s political system has taken on three forms in 50 years

In the 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence, the political system in the country has basically taken on three forms—military rule, competitive party system, and authoritarian party system. The authoritarian party system is in place now, like the rule of an unelected ruler in a democratic process.

These observations emerged in a book comprising three separate research-oriented writings on 50 years of Bangladesh. It said that conservative pro-Islamic politics was gradually gaining strength. If democratic space shrunk further dependence would grow on Islamic forces for the moral legitimacy of the rulers. Bangladesh would thus emerge as grounds for competition between secular politics and Islamic politics. Discussions have also emerged on whether there was any possibility after the 7 January 2024 election for the opposition to ascend to power.

The book, ‘Fifty Years of Bangladesh: Economy, Politics, Society and Culture’, has been edited by CPD’s distinguished fellow Rounaq Jahan and the institution’s chairman Rehman Sobhan.

The book, ‘Fifty Years of Bangladesh: Economy, Politics, Society and Culture’, was launched this afternoon at the Centre for Policy Dialogue office in Dhanmondi of the capital.

The book comprises three research articles regarding Bangladesh’s politics over the past 50 years, written by BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD)’s senior researcher Dr Mirza Hasan, Illinois State University’s Professor Ali Riaz and Oslo University’s South Asia Studies professor Arild Engelsen Ruud. The three writings have been reviewed by the Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman.

Speaking at the event moderated by Rounaq Jahan, Mirza M Hasan said he basically wanted to highlight how far relations between the state and the society have evolved over the past 50 years. He spoke of the political system taking on three forms. This included the state of an authoritarian party, which prevails at present. The other two are military rule and competitive party system. He said, the authoritarian party state system has been in place for the past 24 years. The so-called competitive party system was in place for 17 years, but this system also took on an authoritarian form from the day after the election. In that sense the authoritarian system has prevailed for 43 years. There was direct military rule for nine years.

Mirza Hasan said, the political elite are comfortable with an authoritarian party state system. When they are in the opposition, then they talk about democracy and want a caretaker government. When back in government, they return to authoritarian rule.

Joining the discussion online, Professor Ali Riaz said that Islamic politics was manifest in different ways in Bangladesh. The country has a long history of Islamic politics. It is not as if it has suddenly sprung up or that the state has created it. But the state does have a role in this regard. Outside of Islamic political parties there are various trends and organisations that function socially in the society. He said that the conservative section of the Islamists in Bangladesh was gradually growing in strength. This happened socially and politically too. The Islamic groups will gain in strength in the future.

The Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman said, these three writings will help in understanding the trend of Bangladesh’s politics. In his article, Mirza Hasan said the political system had basically taken on three forms. The political elite are comfortable with the state under authoritarian party rule. It makes it easier to tackle uncertainties over elections and any possible challenge from the civil society. Over the past few decades, business has grown. However, the capacity of the business community to take up collective enterprise has lessened. The business sector is now eager to forge bonds with the political elite in order to reap benefits.

Referring to Mirza Hasan’s writing, Matiur Rahman said that the businessmen have built up an organized political force and have gained the power to determine policy directions. This is clear from the private banks and the garment sector. As a result, the owners of the garment industries enjoy a monopoly of benefits. He said, many banks are on the brink of collapse due to the looting by the owners of private banks. The government administration aids and abets in destroying these. The government now, in the name of mergers, is trying to force these onto good banks. The leaders of these two sectors, under ruling party leadership, find place in parliament and the cabinet. In that sense they are very powerful and influential in the state.

In the book, Ali Riaz wrote about pro-Islamic politics in Bangladesh. The reviewer Matiur Rahman observed that Ali Riaz has termed Islamic politics in Bangladesh as multifaceted. Some of them want to grab state power and usher in authoritarian rule. Some have taken up the strategy of Islamisation in a social manner. So to understand the possibilities of this politics, one must also look into the initiatives of the social Islamic organisations.

Matiur Rahman said that Ali Riaz had pointed out that after 1975, the state had sponsored Islamic politics. After 2013 that patronage became even more overt. Even the general secular parties play a role in Islamisation. At present, the ruling party and the major opposition are directly and indirectly trying to draw in more and more Islamic parties and groups to their respective camps. The state and the ruling party have an important role in determining the direction of Islamic politics in the country. If the democratic space shrinks further, those in power will become more dependent on Islamic forces.

Arild Engelsen Ruud wrote on violence in Bangladesh’s politics. Quoting his writing, Matiur Rahman said the third phase of Bangladesh’s politics began with the fall of Ershad. From 1991 to 2014, Awami League and BNP came to power in turns. Before the 2014 and 2018 elections, it had been possible for the opposition to come tower through the elections. The government of a strong authoritarian party and the party from2014 ran the state by exerting its power and clout. They used the state administration machinery, the law and the courts, and their power, to successfully suppress the opposition party.

The Prothom Alo editor said, “Who will show the way? The political parties? They have, in a sense, failed to show the way and are taken up down the reverse path.

Matiur Rahman reminisced about his joining the first student strike in Dhaka against martial law on 1 February 1962 as a college student. He said, “In that procession for the strike back then we chanted slogans, saying we did not want martial law. We chanted, we want elections, we want democracy, we want the right to vote. We want freedom of expression. We want freedom of the press. The rest is history. It has been 62 years since then. We still voice those demands. We still say, we want elections, we want democracy, we want the right to vote, we want the right to speak, we want freedom of the press.”