Other
- +5
Frances Z. Brown, Zainab Usman, Erin Jones, …
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Source: Getty
Other
Democracy Deadlocked in Bangladesh
The success of democracy in Bangladesh will depend on the political elites’ ability to abandon their zero-sum rivalry and demonstrate commitment to democratic norms in their attitudes and behavior.
By Aqil Shah
Published on Apr 1, 2016
Source: Current History
Since Bangladesh made a transition to democracy in 1991, the country has held three competitive elections that resulted in a turnover of power from the incumbents to the opposition. Consolidating democracy in Bangladesh would be an important achievement because of the dearth of stable democracies in Muslimmajority countries. But equating elections with democracy or assuming that alternations in power would automatically result in the consolidation of a liberal democracy is a mistake that some social scientists call the “electoralist fallacy.” Democracy is consolidated and truly becomes the “only game in town” when elected governments govern within the bounds of the rule of law and the political opposition respects the procedures and norms of the democratic game...
About the Author
Aqil Shah
Former Visiting Scholar, South Asia Program
Aqil Shah was a visiting scholar in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
- Global Views of Biden’s Democracy Summit
- Pakistan’s “Moderate Taliban” Strategy Won’t Hold Up—For AnyoneCommentary
Aqil Shah
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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