Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
Authors: Melissa Conley Tyler and Tiffany Liu, Asialink at the University of Melbourne
In February, experts from government, think tanks, civil society and academia met in Bangladesh for the ninth meeting of the Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration (ADFM) to address the challenge of people movement and displacement in the region. The dialogue has already seen some positive outcomes, and it highlights an important role for non-official actors in diplomacy.
Author: Michael van Ginkel, Stable Seas
Japan has a vested interest in contributing to regional maritime stability in the Bay of Bengal. It holds important Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC) that open commercial opportunities by increasing connectivity with littoral countries. Japan has more actively contributed to the maritime stability and security efforts of countries like India, Myanmar and Bangladesh in its transition from isolationism to internationalism. Read more…
Author: Fahmida Khatun, Centre for Policy Dialogue
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) hit Bangladesh at a point when its economy was already under stress. Except for remittance income, all major economic indicators were underperforming during the first few months of the 2020 fiscal year (FY2020). Read more…
Authors: Asad Islam, Gaurav Datt and Sisira Jayasuriya, Monash University
COVID-19 is now in Bangladesh. It is one of the world’s most densely populated countries with poor healthcare infrastructure, weak logistical facilities, widespread poverty, and inadequate safety nets and income transfer mechanisms. It has not faced a crisis of this magnitude in its five decades as an independent country. Read more…
Author: Sanchita Banerjee Saxena, UC Berkeley
Seven years ago, one of the worst industrial disasters in history — the collapse of an eight-story commercial building in Rana Plaza, Dhaka — demonstrated to the world the heavy price of producing cheap clothing to fuel the ‘fast fashion’ industry for consumers in the global North. Read more…
Author: Fahmida Khatun, Centre for Policy Dialogue
Bangladesh began 2019 with a renewed hope that its newly elected government would bring in political and economic changes as promised in its election manifesto. Although the economy has maintained high GDP growth, electoral promises remain unfulfilled in several critical areas. Many old woes continue to hamper the economy: a weak fiscal balance, a fragile banking sector and a shaky external sector.
Author: Ali Riaz, Illinois State University
In Bangladesh the ruling Awami League has established total control over state machinery and politics since the managed election of December 2018. Simmering popular discontent found expression in agitations against the killing of a student, price hikes and government-appointed university administration corruption in 2019.
Author: Ashok Swain, Uppsala University
South Asia is facing severe water scarcity. As the region’s population grows and its economies develop, a lack of sustainable water development strategy is leading to increasingly acute water shortages.
Author: Ajay Gudavarthy, Jawaharlal Nehru University
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) in India’s Assam state is being used to mark non-documented citizens as ‘infiltrators’ and ‘illegal immigrants’ and thus ineligible for registration. Such a system has been a long-standing demand of the local Assamese in order to protect their language, land and culture from ‘outsiders’ — primarily referring to the Bengali speaking population. This system is now being promoted by Hindu nationalists aiming to spread their ideology through India.
Authors: Champa Patel, Chatham House, and Rudabeh Shahid, University of York
Bangladesh is a country often subjected to the whims of its geography. Being surrounded by India and Myanmar means that ensuring good relations with its neighbours is paramount to maintaining regional cohesion but these relations are coming under strain as India’s and Myanmar’s majoritarian impulses resonate across their borders.
Author: Iftekharul Bashar, NTU
In July 2019, India’s State Minister for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy accused Jama’at-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) of using some madrassas (religious schools) in West Bengal for radicalisation and recruitment activities. The claim came a week after Indian police arrested four members of the pro-Islamic State (IS) faction of JMB in West Bengal.
Author: Mustafizur Rahman, Centre for Policy Dialogue
The World Bank estimates Bangladesh–India bilateral trade potential to be US$16.4 billion. The actual trade figure for the 2019 fiscal year was US$9.85 billion. This gap captures the prevailing economic relationship between the two countries and represents what could be if the attendant challenges were adequately addressed. Read more…
Author: Mubashar Hasan, University of Oslo
Bangladesh has made economic progress under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The country has maintained an impressive growth record of between 6–7.9 per cent over the past five years. The World Bank endorses the country as among the five fastest-growing economies in the world and forecasts economic growth as both strong and stable.
Authors: Arun Upadhyaya and Carter Chapwanya, Shandong University
After inviting heads of BIMSTEC governments to his swearing in ceremony, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited both the Maldives and Sri Lanka within the following 10 days — suggesting that his ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy will be the anchor of his foreign policy for his second term. Read more…
Author: Ali Riaz, Illinois State University
Bangladesh’s economy will continue its high growth into 2020 according to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank. This comforts the government, serving as a morale booster for the ruling Awami League (AL). AL is being criticised for their part in the questionable December 2018 election, widely described by global commentators as ‘farcical’. Read more…
