State of Governance in Bangladesh

The present state of governance in Bangladesh is evaluated here using the concept of governance, particularly good governance. Bangladesh shows all the symptoms of an underdeveloped polity. Democracy has not been institutionalized. Politics continues to be dominated by big money, goons and people wi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Round table (London) 2003-07, Vol.92 (370), p.391-405
Main Author: Khan, Mohammad Mohabbat
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Bangladesh
Bureaucracy
Corruption
Corruption in government
Democracy
Governance
Government
Government and politics
Human rights
Politicization
Politics
Public administration
Transparency
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Summary:The present state of governance in Bangladesh is evaluated here using the concept of governance, particularly good governance. Bangladesh shows all the symptoms of an underdeveloped polity. Democracy has not been institutionalized. Politics continues to be dominated by big money, goons and people with little background and training in formal politics. Elections have become such an expensive affair that ordinary citizens act only as passive voters. Power and authority are concentrated at the top echelons of government. Corruption has become so endemic that it has engulfed the entire society. Both the supreme leaders of two major political parties, ie the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, were handed top leadership positions for reasons of heredity and kinship. This permanent nature of supreme leadership has thwarted internal democracy in political parties' function and management. The dominant position of the executive is widely known. The parliamentary system that is in existence can best be termed a prime ministerial system. The parliament is content to play second fiddle to the executive. Lack of independence of the judiciary has resulted in its heavy dependence on the executive. Lack of accountability and transparency in the affairs of the state is a major impediment to effective governance. The human rights situation remains unsatisfactory. One of the pressing problems of governance is the politicization of the public bureaucracy, with adverse effects on performance. Expenditure on the military continues to rise without any apparent justification.
ISSN:0035-8533
1474-029X
DOI:10.1080/0035853032000111116