Decoding Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic playbook
Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic rule came to an end in the wake of the mass uprising of July–August 2024, which also led to her to flee the country.
4 August 2025, 18:00 PM
4 August 2025, 18:00 PM
Opinion / Transitioning from autocracy to democracy: The four challenges for Bangladesh
The challenges are not exclusively of the interim government's but of the entire political class.
27 June 2025, 02:00 AM
27 June 2025, 02:00 AM
An unfinished struggle: Democracy, identity and reform
The interview explores the evolving narrative of democracy in Bangladesh since 1971.
6 April 2025, 02:00 AM
6 April 2025, 02:00 AM
Lessons from four elections: More challenges to democracy ahead
Do these elections indicate a strategy to beat populist politics?
9 July 2024, 13:00 PM
9 July 2024, 13:00 PM
India’s election opens the door to the past
India witnessed a tumultuous time between May 1996 and October 1999 when coalition governments came and left in quick succession.
5 June 2024, 08:49 AM
5 June 2024, 08:49 AM
Bertelsmann Transformation Index 2024: Another indictment of Bangladesh’s state of governance
Bangladesh, since 2018, has been classified as a 'moderate autocracy.'
24 March 2024, 02:00 AM
24 March 2024, 02:00 AM
The rise of personalistic autocracy: What should we do?
Since the middle of the 2000s, the world has witnessed a precipitous decline in democratic countries. After almost three decades of proliferation of democratic governance, described by Samuel Huntington as the Third Wave of democracy, the third reverse wave is sweeping the globe.
27 February 2024, 18:00 PM
27 February 2024, 18:00 PM
What democracy indices say about Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s declining score in the EIU Democracy Index should provide an opportunity to discuss not only how EIU has rated Bangladesh, but also how others have characterised the country’s state of democracy—or lack thereof.
23 February 2024, 01:00 AM
23 February 2024, 01:00 AM
The Great Game will continue
The absence of democratic behaviour is no longer hidden under the carpet.
9 January 2024, 13:00 PM
What comes after January 7?
If AL’s victory in the 2014 election was a hollow one, the 2024 victory in the making is nothing short of a Pyrrhic one—a victory which inflicts so much damage that it cannot be considered worthwhile.
4 January 2024, 02:00 AM
Elections without choice: A leaf out of autocrats’ playbook
As the country is heading towards an exercise that the incumbent is calling an election, it is imperative that we understand what is in the making.
11 December 2023, 02:00 AM
EC’s act is ‘an improbable fiction’
The EC’s action has already contributed to the deterioration of the political situation, and it will continue to reverberate in the coming days.
17 November 2023, 18:00 PM
Reading Donald Lu’s letter, intently
Is there a connection between India’s clarification of its policy and Lu’s letter?
15 November 2023, 09:06 AM
What should and shouldn’t happen in Oct 28 rallies
It cannot be ignored that the nation came to this day because a path to hold a fair election is absent, and that the current system of governance has undermined the citizens’ right to exercise their inalienable right to vote.
27 October 2023, 11:26 AM
How to judge the Election Commission’s performance
The question of whether the current EC can deliver a free and fair election should be explored based on two sets of criteria
14 October 2023, 18:00 PM
What the law minister's DSA statement reveals
Until now, there was no account from the government that provided a picture on the extent of the use of the law.
7 June 2023, 16:00 PM
Government’s stubborn attitude on DSA sends ominous signal
The government is not taking OHCHR recommendations about the law into account.
9 April 2023, 17:00 PM
Persecution of journalists: Condemnation isn’t enough
It is our moral duty to condemn the arrest of Samsuzzaman Shams and demand his immediate release.
30 March 2023, 14:30 PM
Lu’s visit: Old message, only louder
Secretary Lu’s visit, against these backgrounds, reiterated the message of the past year that the US would like to see a fair and inclusive election in Bangladesh and that it is concerned about the shrinking civic space.
19 January 2023, 15:00 PM
What is in store for the new year?
Looking back at 2022, experts on the South Asian political and economic landscape would highlight the ongoing economic crisis for understandable reasons.
1 January 2023, 13:00 PM
One Year of US Sanctions: Denial and Defiance
The government has not only curtailed freedom of expression and assembly, but it has also used state institutions to silence its critics and political opponents in a brutal manner.
9 December 2022, 18:00 PM
Remember what Noor Hossain died for
It is imperative that we pay respect to him but what we need to recall is what was written on his bare chest and back, writes Ali Riaz.
10 November 2022, 02:01 AM
A constitution without constitutionalism?
The celebration of the 50th anniversary of the adoption of Bangladesh Constitution provides an opportunity to examine whether the country practised constitutionalism since the constitution came into effect.
3 November 2022, 18:00 PM
Citizens’ fundamental rights are not the executive’s choice
Can citizens be told that their rights are now available because the executive branch of the state is offering them as a gift?
2 September 2022, 17:00 PM
Why is Bangladesh seeking IMF support in the first place?
As Bangladesh, facing an unprecedented economic crisis, has entered a negotiation with the IMF for a USD 4.5 billion loan package, a few discussions have ensued in the country.
4 August 2022, 15:00 PM
Sri Lanka crisis: What role would the military play?
The protests are not only about the economic woes but also about the system of governance.
13 July 2022, 14:00 PM
Imran Khan’s downfall and the judiciary’s role in it
A fortuitous combination of several factors in the past few months have brought down the Imran Khan government in Pakistan.
12 April 2022, 18:00 PM
Dhaka’s abstention in Ukraine vote is an anomaly
Bangladesh’s abstention in the vote on the Ukraine crisis at the United Nations’ emergency special session on March 3, 2022 deserves much more scrutiny than it has received thus far.
15 March 2022, 18:00 PM