Three Decades of Bangladeshi Politics (1990-2019): The Emergence and Collapse of the Political Settlements

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Ali Riaz
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Distribution Of Power ◽  
Dominant Coalition ◽  
Democratic Transformation ◽  
Political Settlement

This paper explores the tumultuous political history of Bangladesh since it embarked on democratization process in 1991 after two decades of civilian and military authoritarianism, using the political settlement framework. Political settlement, in this paper is understood as, an agreement among elites and other social forces regarding ‘distribution of benefits supported by its institutions consistent with the distribution of power in the society’ (Khan, 2010). At the political level the arrangement is expected to ensure that the system would not unravel by conflict and violence. In the past decades, the country not only experienced repeated episodes of violence but also hopes of a democratic transformation have faded. Bangladesh has moved towards a non-inclusive political system. The paper argues that the period in question is marked by the emergence and collapse of a political settlement among political elites. It explores the nature and scope of the political settlement that emerged in the 1980s and collapsed by 2010, and demonstrates that by 2014, an exclusionary authoritarian settlement has emerged characterized by a lack of inclusivity and coercive apparatuses’ heightened role. The breakdown of political settlement was predicated by the nature of the settlement, its implications for the elites in the challenger coalition, and the degree of inclusivity of the dominant coalition. The exclusionary political settlement provides a semblance of ‘stability’ for a limited period but fails to contain the tension in the long term even when it delivers economic growth.

Not Minding the Gap

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Kelsall ◽  
Heng Seiha
Keyword(s):  
Khmer Rouge ◽  
High Growth ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Past ◽  
Economic Collapse ◽  
Dominant Coalition ◽  
Khmer Rouge Regime ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Ruling Party ◽  
Political Settlement

This chapter analyses patterns of growth in Cambodia. Over the past forty years, Cambodia has had one of the world’s most volatile growth experiences. A prolonged economic collapse between 1970 and 1982 was followed by a gradual but unstable recovery up until 1998, while post-1998 saw another growth acceleration and sustained high growth. While growth collapse can be traced to the failure of Prince Sihanouk’s post-independence political settlement, war, and the disastrous Khmer Rouge regime, growth acceleration and maintenance has been based on a political settlement which has created a balance between technocrats and rent-seekers within Hun Sen’s dominant coalition. Technocrats are given just enough latitude to support growth industries, while rent-seekers are given the political backing to generate profits, a proportion of which are funnelled to the masses through ruling party patronage projects.

On the Environmental and Socio-economic Impact of the Jonglei Canal Project, Southern Sudan

1985 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. I. el Moghraby ◽  
M.O. el Sammani
Keyword(s):  
Social Systems ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
The Political ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Southern Sudan ◽  
The Past ◽  
Mode Of Life ◽  
History Of ◽  
Socio Economic Impact

The Jonglei Canal Project should be weighed against its socio-economic impacts as well as environmental considerations. If taken in a short- or long-term cost-benefit perspective, the Project we think is a justified undertaking.One might argue: ‘let everything well alone; change is another word for disaster’. We are not contending that the Jonglei Canal Project, if duly completed, would not bring about a new mode of life for both Man and domestic and other animals. We are contending that the new mode will be a more satisfactory on than that which exists at present. Sudan aims at the transformation of traditional communities to better social and economic horizons, and not the intentional destruction of the traditional way of life. Many overlook the fact that the Nilotes are already changing, and that it is beyond the powers of the political and social systems to confine them to the past.Nevertheless there are indications that ecologists and environmentalists are far from agreed among themselves as to whether the Jonglei canal is, on balance, a good or a bad idea. But in any case we would like to stress in conclusion that the Jonglei Canal Project is being executed at a relatively fortunate time in Man's history of awareness of the way in which he should be using his natural resources.

Is the constitution the problem in front of the democratic transition in Iraq?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nawsherwan Saeed
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Transition ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
External Interference ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Us ◽  
Democratic Experience ◽  
Democratic Transformation ◽  
Electoral Law ◽  
Precarious Situation

Nearly 17 years after the US invasion, Iraq ranks first in the list of the most corrupt and least stable countries in the world. The state of instability and rampant corruption in Iraqi society since 2003 made some critics blame the constitution itself as the main obstacle to the country's democratic transition. For them, the hasty method of drafting the constitution, the absence of Iraqi constitutional expertise, and the lateral representation of Sunni Arabs are among the factors that have contributed to the precarious situation in Iraq over the past years. Likewise, critics argue that the ambiguity and ambiguity in some constitutional articles hindered its application. Amid these readings, the October revolution erupted on October 1, 2019 in Baghdad and the rest of the southern governorates of Iraq in protest against the deteriorating economic conditions of the country, unemployment, and the spread of administrative corruption. The demands of the demonstrators reached to change the constitution and amend the electoral law. Thus, the question posed in this paper is to what extent can the constitution really be an obstacle to the democratization process in Iraq? This paper discusses that the nature of Iraqi society as a deeply divided society, the absence of the previous democratic experience among the citizens, the weakness of the political culture of cooperation and tolerance among the political elites, and external interference are among the main obstacles to the democratic transformation in the country. Finally, the conclusion of the study is that despite all the criticisms and criticisms about the democratic experience in Iraq, the process of democratic transformation is slow in itself, and therefore it can be said that the process is still ongoing and has not failed yet.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurit Yaari
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
The Political ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Jewish Culture ◽  
The Past ◽  
Future State ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Nineteenth ◽  
State Of Israel

This chapter examines the lack of continuous tradition of the art of the theatre in the history of Jewish culture. Theatre as art and institution was forbidden for Jews during most of their history, and although there were plays written in different times and places during the past centuries, no tradition of theatre evolved in Jewish culture until the middle of the nineteenth century. In view of this absence, the author discusses the genesis of Jewish theatre in Eastern Europe and in Eretz-Yisrael (The Land of Israel) since the late nineteenth century, encouraged by the Jewish Enlightenment movement, the emergence of Jewish nationalism, and the rebirth of Hebrew as a language of everyday life. Finally, the chapter traces the development of parallel strands of theatre that preceded the Israeli theatre and shadowed the emergence of the political infrastructure of the future State of Israel.

scholarly journals Returning urban political elites to the research agenda: the case of the Southern Low Countries (c. 1350 – c. 1550)

Urban History ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 568-588
Author(s):  
Frederik Buylaert ◽  
Jelten Baguet ◽  
Janna Everaert
Keyword(s):  
Special Section ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
High Turnover ◽  
Low Countries ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

AbstractThis article provides a comparative analysis of four large towns in the Southern Low Countries between c. 1350 and c. 1550. Combining the data on Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp – each of which is discussed in greater detail in the articles in this special section – with recent research on Bruges, the authors argue against the historiographical trend in which the political history of late medieval towns is supposedly dominated by a trend towards oligarchy. Rather than a closure of the ruling class, the four towns show a high turnover in the social composition of the political elite, and a consistent trend towards aristocracy, in which an increasingly large number of aldermen enjoyed noble status. The intensity of these trends differed from town to town, and was tied to different institutional configurations as well as different economic and political developments in each of the four towns.

How the Desert got a Past: A History of Quaternary Research in Australia’s Deserts

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Smith
Keyword(s):  
Climate Changes ◽  
Conceptual Space ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S

This paper examines how the past of desert landscapes has been interpreted since European explorers and scientists first encountered them. It charts the research that created the conceptual space within which archaeologists and Quaternarists now work. Studies from the 1840s–1960s created the notion of a ‘Great Australian Arid Period'. The 1960s studies of Lake Mungo and the Willandra Lakes by Jim Bowler revealed the cyclical nature of palaeolakes, that changed with climate changes in the Pleistocene, and the complexity of desert pasts. SLEADS and other researchers in the 1980s used thermoluminescence techniques that showed further complexities in desert lands beyond the Willandra particularly through new studies in the Strzelecki and Simpson Dunefields, Lake Eyre, Lake Woods and Lake Gregory. Australian deserts are varied and have very different histories. Far from ‘timeless lands', they have carried detailed information about long-term climate changes on continental scales.

scholarly journals The Long-Term and Geographically Constrained Effects of Campaign Advertising on Political Polarization and Sorting

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis N. Ridout ◽  
Erika Franklin Fowler ◽  
Michael M. Franz ◽  
Kenneth Goldstein
Keyword(s):  
Political Advertising ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
The Past ◽  
Mass Public ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Media Markets ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Campaign Advertising

Scholars agree that there has been an increase in polarization among political elites, though there continues to be debate on the extent to which polarization exists among the mass public. Still, there is general agreement that the American public has become more sorted over the past two decades, a time during which political ad volumes have increased and ads have become more negative. In this research, we explore whether there is a link between the two. We take advantage of variation in the volume and tone of political advertising across media markets to examine the link between advertising and three dependent variables: issue polarization, affective polarization, and sorting. We focus on the impact of both recent ad exposure and cumulative ad exposure across several election cycles. Ultimately, we find little impact of advertising on polarization or sorting, both overall and among subgroups of the population.

scholarly journals Prvih 20 godina časopisa National Security and the Future

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-52
Author(s):  
Miroslav Tuđman
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
The Political ◽  
Fake News ◽  
The Past ◽  
Clear Vision ◽  
Information Operations ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of

The author gives an overview of the history of National Security and the Future (NSF). The first editorial board accepted a clear vision and mission of the NSF. That is why the NSF had to react to the political circumstances in which the journal has operated for 20 years. In the first period, international circumstances and the policy of detuđmanization directly influenced the choice of topics and papers published in the journal. For the past five years, the NSF has paid particular attention to the security of national and European critical infrastructure. A total of 257 texts were published on more than 8,000 pages and authored by 134 authors from 25 countries. The NSF has published studies on historical forgery, information operations, production of "fake news" and contributions to the theory and methodology of intelligence activities.

Anti-Colonialism

2018 ◽  
pp. 416-452
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Political History ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Modern World ◽  
The Political ◽  
Empirical Content ◽  
Rhetorical Device ◽  
The Past ◽  
Significant Phenomenon ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historical Phenomenon

Anti-colonialism as a historical phenomenon defies easy categorization. Despite its use as an expression across a range of academic disciplines, it resists simple definitions of practical form, political scope, and empirical content due to the ubiquity of anti-colonial thought and activism across time and geography. It is arguably one of the oldest forms of political conduct in the basic sense of opposing foreign domination. Yet, in most cases, it has primarily served as a generic rhetorical device to describe that which is against colonialism. This chapter offers a reassessment of anti-colonialism. Its reservations about monolithic approaches to colonialism and anti-colonialism reflect a common appraisal formulated by many scholars over the past several decades. Anti-colonialism must be recognized and understood as a significant phenomenon in defining the political history of the modern world. However, it must also be considered in many cases as indiscrete from the colonialism it confronted.

WHERE THE PAST GOES. THE HISTORY OF THE TERM “WRECKING”

2021 ◽  
pp. 114-140
Author(s):  
Yana E. Kanevskaya ◽  
◽  
David M. Feldman ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
The Past ◽  
Political Events ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historical Times

The article considers the history of the term “wrecking.” The study allows describing and analyzing political events which the chosen terms correlate with. The authors manage to trace the functions of the term “wrecking” at different historical times, as well as to establish a connection between the function of the term and the political tasks of the leadership.

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