Bert Suykens
Biographic Data
| ID | 175043 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Bert Suykens |
| GIVEN NAMES | Bert |
| FAMILY NAME | Suykens |
| SIGNATURE | SUYKENS B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Ghent University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7581-8750 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 105 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Smuggling Nostalgia
For decades, cattle smuggling was a win-win business for both India and Bangladesh---the former producing surplus cattle and the latter having a high demand for beef. Every year, thousands of cattle made their way into Bangladesh informally through porous international borders. Although multiple stakeholders profited from this trade, borderlanders from almost all walks of life---bordering villages of Jashore and Chapai Nawabganj districts of Bang…
Moving sand
Sand Mining, Non‐Farm Employment and a Local Labour Force in Rural Bangladesh
This study focuses on the role of sand mining in rural livelihoods in Bangladesh, where the surge in sand extraction has raised environmental concerns. This study situates itself within the literature on Artisanal and Small‐Scale Mining (ASM), emphasizing the vital role of sand mining in diversifying rural economies. We found that a mixed‐methods approach, including a comprehensive livelihoods survey and qualitative fieldwork, was needed to uncov…
Governing Artisanal and Small-scale Sand Mining in Bangladesh
This article uses an in-country comparative approach to investigate the governance of artisanal and small-scale river sand mining in Bangladesh, focusing particularly on sector heterogeneity, tax farming and power imbalances. It analyses sand governance in two diverse sand-mining sites in Bangladesh - one mechanized and large, and the other manual and small-scale. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, the study reveals that …
Claiming the People's Past
This book offers a global and systematic overview of populist politics of history in the twenty-first century. An international group of scholars interrogates how and why populists engage with the past. Twelve case studies focus on uses of history and memory by populist movements across the globe – ranging from Brazil to Bangladesh, from Poland to Tanzania. Five thematic chapters zoom in on key features of populism: its relation to time, national…
Sand urbanism in Bangladesh transitions of sand extraction and trade in Dhaka-Narayanganj
Locating Sand
Sand extraction is quickly gaining attention both in the academic and policy communities. However, we lack grounded understandings of the multiple realities and impacts of sand extractions across the Global South. This special issue aims to provide a jumping-off point towards both empirically and conceptually sophisticated work on sand. This introduction wants to present the main themes emerging in the paper, key concepts used and developed and s…
Political settlements and the historical development of sand governance in Morocco
Thief plates
Around half a million rickshaws ply the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh. To deal with the problem of theft, owner associations started to issue ‘thief plates’. These allow owners to get their rickshaws back at a reduced price. They also offer a protection against theft. This article argues that these plates form material mediators brokering relations between rickshaw owners and drivers, and thieves. Building on the literature on state-citizen broker…
How to Be Visible in Student Politics
In Bangladeshi student politics, political performances in public spaces play an essential role in establishing patronage relationships and determining local authority structures. As Thomas Blom Hansen has famously argued, "visibility means everything" in such a context. With the emergence of social networking sites like Facebook, new digital public spaces have appeared. Focusing on ruling-party student activists at Rajshahi University, this arti…
A Hundred Per Cent Good Man Cannot do Politics
This article seeks to better understand political violence in Bangladesh. Analysing the case of student politics, the article enquires into the productive use of violence by student activists and leaders. It argues that student violence should not be considered as a breakdown of order or a sign of state fragility, but as a means of gaining access to party-state resources and patronage. Violence operates to mark out and maintain power relations be…
The Politics of Order and Disturbance
An abstract is not available for this content. As you have access to this content, full HTML content is provided on this page. A PDF of this content is also available in through the 'Save PDF' action button
The Bangladesh party-state
Since independence in 1971, both civilian and military regimes have ruled Bangladesh. As many other military regimes did, the latter civilianised their rule through the formation of political parties and participation in general elections. When diachronically analysing political formations in Bangladesh, it is appealing to make a clear-cut distinction between autocratic and democratic regimes. However, this article argues that throughout its post…
Constellations of Power and Authority in the Political Economy of Illegal Timber Extraction in BTAD, Assam
This article seeks to comprehend the way the illegal timber economy in the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Council (BTAD) in Assam is integrated within a constellation of power and authority. Based on over ten months of ethnographic field research, our analysis shows that the timber trade is indeed characterized by what can be conceptualized as an excess of sovereignty. However, a burdened agency is still exercised by those in the timber trade. M…
The Past, Present and Future of Slum Property Regimes in Chittagong, Bangladesh
This article argues for the need to take time into account when understanding land ownership in slums. It shows that this allows comprehending more accurately the place of land law and the specific forms that legal struggles over land take. Field research in a slum in Chittagong (in Bangladesh) reveals that while contemporary practices of ownership and transfer might appear to be informal and illegal, they are not only grounded in historical form…
Segmentary Opposition, Vertical Integration and the Structure of Political Relations in Bangladesh
This article aims to conceptualize political relations in Bangladesh by building a descriptive model of these relations. It draws on the concept of segmentary opposition developed by Evans-Pritchard in his study of the Nuer political system and on the concept of vertical integration used in the study of both industrial relations and party structures in federal states. It is argued that the structure of political relations in Bangladesh is based o…
Whoever Has the Stick Guides the Buffalo’
This article examines the relationship between the concept of neutrality in community mediation and partisan party politics in Nepal. Focusing on one donor-sponsored, US model-based community mediation programme in the Terai, this article contributes to a growing literature on authority formation and the role of party politicians in post-conflict Nepal. It argues that both neutrality and bias in dispute settlement are constitutive of building (We…
The Land that Disappeared
Through the lens of the 'disappearance' of a piece of land, this article analyses land relations in a Bangladeshibastee(slum). The author builds an understanding of the local negotiation of ownership in an area wheredakhal(forceful occupation) is the main starting point for the assessment of ownership. The property regime in thebasteeemerges out of a web of relationships between different landlords, strongmen, elected officials and (local and nat…
Hartal as a complex political performance
Hartal, the general strike or total shutdown, is one of the defining features of politics in Bangladesh. While opposition parties proclaim it is one of their only weapons to put pressure on the ruling party, Bangladeshi middle classes and the international (donor) community view hartal as essentially disruptive. Focusing on the local organisation of hartal at the ward level, this article argues that hartal plays a crucial role in the organisation…
The Gotte Koya IDP Mystery
In this article the IDP realities in the borderland between two states in central India, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, are investigated. The conflict in Chhattisgarh between a Maoist insurgent movement, better known as the Naxalites, and a state-sponsored vigilante group, the Salwa Judum, has created an IDP flow in the area. Starting from my own pre-fieldwork misconceptions about the issue, this article shows the complex nature of the IDP ques…
Diffuse Authority in the Beedi Commodity Chain
Although the Naxalite (Maoist) influence in India stretches from the north of Bihar to the south of Andhra Pradesh, their impact on the political economy of the Indian countryside - and specifically the tribal livelihood economy - remains understudied. This article examines how resource access is mediated in areas where both the state and the Naxalites hold some degree of public authority, using as a case study the trade in tendu leaves, used to …
Maoist Martyrs
By closely analysing Naxalite propaganda material, I explain the functionality of martyrdom in the Maoist movement in India. I show that their concept of secular martyrdom is multifaceted, but can be traced to a mix of several elements in classical Maoist doctrine (sacrifice, dialectics, and critique). As such, the cult of the secular martyr serves both practical and ideological aims. My analysis, tracing martyrdom to secular ideology, opens new …
The Liberation of Bodoland’
Bodoland, located in western Assam, has been a theatre for insurgencies since the mid 1980s. Too often, migration has been the paradigmatic framework to analyse not only this, but most conflicts, raging in Assam. In this article we argue that migration in itself is insufficient to understand the problems in Bodoland. Instead, we focus on forestry and tea estates, and contend that they, forming important restrictive structures, caused tribal entra…
Hartal as a complex political performance
Hartal, the general strike or total shutdown, is one of the defining features of politics in Bangladesh. While opposition parties proclaim it is one of their only weapons to put pressure on the ruling party, Bangladeshi middle classes and the international (donor) community view hartal as essentially disruptive. Focusing on the local organisation of hartal at the ward level, this article argues that hartal plays a crucial role in the organisation…
A Hundred Per Cent Good Man Cannot do Politics
This article seeks to better understand political violence in Bangladesh. Analysing the case of student politics, the article enquires into the productive use of violence by student activists and leaders. It argues that student violence should not be considered as a breakdown of order or a sign of state fragility, but as a means of gaining access to party-state resources and patronage. Violence operates to mark out and maintain power relations be…
The Politics of Order and Disturbance
An abstract is not available for this content. As you have access to this content, full HTML content is provided on this page. A PDF of this content is also available in through the 'Save PDF' action button
The Bangladesh party-state
Since independence in 1971, both civilian and military regimes have ruled Bangladesh. As many other military regimes did, the latter civilianised their rule through the formation of political parties and participation in general elections. When diachronically analysing political formations in Bangladesh, it is appealing to make a clear-cut distinction between autocratic and democratic regimes. However, this article argues that throughout its post…
The Land that Disappeared
Through the lens of the 'disappearance' of a piece of land, this article analyses land relations in a Bangladeshibastee(slum). The author builds an understanding of the local negotiation of ownership in an area wheredakhal(forceful occupation) is the main starting point for the assessment of ownership. The property regime in thebasteeemerges out of a web of relationships between different landlords, strongmen, elected officials and (local and nat…
Diffuse Authority in the Beedi Commodity Chain
Although the Naxalite (Maoist) influence in India stretches from the north of Bihar to the south of Andhra Pradesh, their impact on the political economy of the Indian countryside - and specifically the tribal livelihood economy - remains understudied. This article examines how resource access is mediated in areas where both the state and the Naxalites hold some degree of public authority, using as a case study the trade in tendu leaves, used to …
Maoist Martyrs
By closely analysing Naxalite propaganda material, I explain the functionality of martyrdom in the Maoist movement in India. I show that their concept of secular martyrdom is multifaceted, but can be traced to a mix of several elements in classical Maoist doctrine (sacrifice, dialectics, and critique). As such, the cult of the secular martyr serves both practical and ideological aims. My analysis, tracing martyrdom to secular ideology, opens new …
Sand urbanism in Bangladesh transitions of sand extraction and trade in Dhaka-Narayanganj
Segmentary Opposition, Vertical Integration and the Structure of Political Relations in Bangladesh
This article aims to conceptualize political relations in Bangladesh by building a descriptive model of these relations. It draws on the concept of segmentary opposition developed by Evans-Pritchard in his study of the Nuer political system and on the concept of vertical integration used in the study of both industrial relations and party structures in federal states. It is argued that the structure of political relations in Bangladesh is based o…
The Liberation of Bodoland’
Bodoland, located in western Assam, has been a theatre for insurgencies since the mid 1980s. Too often, migration has been the paradigmatic framework to analyse not only this, but most conflicts, raging in Assam. In this article we argue that migration in itself is insufficient to understand the problems in Bodoland. Instead, we focus on forestry and tea estates, and contend that they, forming important restrictive structures, caused tribal entra…
The Gotte Koya IDP Mystery
In this article the IDP realities in the borderland between two states in central India, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, are investigated. The conflict in Chhattisgarh between a Maoist insurgent movement, better known as the Naxalites, and a state-sponsored vigilante group, the Salwa Judum, has created an IDP flow in the area. Starting from my own pre-fieldwork misconceptions about the issue, this article shows the complex nature of the IDP ques…
Locating Sand
Sand extraction is quickly gaining attention both in the academic and policy communities. However, we lack grounded understandings of the multiple realities and impacts of sand extractions across the Global South. This special issue aims to provide a jumping-off point towards both empirically and conceptually sophisticated work on sand. This introduction wants to present the main themes emerging in the paper, key concepts used and developed and s…
Constellations of Power and Authority in the Political Economy of Illegal Timber Extraction in BTAD, Assam
This article seeks to comprehend the way the illegal timber economy in the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Council (BTAD) in Assam is integrated within a constellation of power and authority. Based on over ten months of ethnographic field research, our analysis shows that the timber trade is indeed characterized by what can be conceptualized as an excess of sovereignty. However, a burdened agency is still exercised by those in the timber trade. M…
Moving sand
Sand Mining, Non‐Farm Employment and a Local Labour Force in Rural Bangladesh
This study focuses on the role of sand mining in rural livelihoods in Bangladesh, where the surge in sand extraction has raised environmental concerns. This study situates itself within the literature on Artisanal and Small‐Scale Mining (ASM), emphasizing the vital role of sand mining in diversifying rural economies. We found that a mixed‐methods approach, including a comprehensive livelihoods survey and qualitative fieldwork, was needed to uncov…
Political settlements and the historical development of sand governance in Morocco
Thief plates
Around half a million rickshaws ply the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh. To deal with the problem of theft, owner associations started to issue ‘thief plates’. These allow owners to get their rickshaws back at a reduced price. They also offer a protection against theft. This article argues that these plates form material mediators brokering relations between rickshaw owners and drivers, and thieves. Building on the literature on state-citizen broker…
How to Be Visible in Student Politics
In Bangladeshi student politics, political performances in public spaces play an essential role in establishing patronage relationships and determining local authority structures. As Thomas Blom Hansen has famously argued, "visibility means everything" in such a context. With the emergence of social networking sites like Facebook, new digital public spaces have appeared. Focusing on ruling-party student activists at Rajshahi University, this arti…
The Liberation of Bodoland’
Bodoland, located in western Assam, has been a theatre for insurgencies since the mid 1980s. Too often, migration has been the paradigmatic framework to analyse not only this, but most conflicts, raging in Assam. In this article we argue that migration in itself is insufficient to understand the problems in Bodoland. Instead, we focus on forestry and tea estates, and contend that they, forming important restrictive structures, caused tribal entra…
Diffuse Authority in the Beedi Commodity Chain
Although the Naxalite (Maoist) influence in India stretches from the north of Bihar to the south of Andhra Pradesh, their impact on the political economy of the Indian countryside - and specifically the tribal livelihood economy - remains understudied. This article examines how resource access is mediated in areas where both the state and the Naxalites hold some degree of public authority, using as a case study the trade in tendu leaves, used to …
Maoist Martyrs
By closely analysing Naxalite propaganda material, I explain the functionality of martyrdom in the Maoist movement in India. I show that their concept of secular martyrdom is multifaceted, but can be traced to a mix of several elements in classical Maoist doctrine (sacrifice, dialectics, and critique). As such, the cult of the secular martyr serves both practical and ideological aims. My analysis, tracing martyrdom to secular ideology, opens new …
The Gotte Koya IDP Mystery
In this article the IDP realities in the borderland between two states in central India, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, are investigated. The conflict in Chhattisgarh between a Maoist insurgent movement, better known as the Naxalites, and a state-sponsored vigilante group, the Salwa Judum, has created an IDP flow in the area. Starting from my own pre-fieldwork misconceptions about the issue, this article shows the complex nature of the IDP ques…
Hartal as a complex political performance
Hartal, the general strike or total shutdown, is one of the defining features of politics in Bangladesh. While opposition parties proclaim it is one of their only weapons to put pressure on the ruling party, Bangladeshi middle classes and the international (donor) community view hartal as essentially disruptive. Focusing on the local organisation of hartal at the ward level, this article argues that hartal plays a crucial role in the organisation…
The Land that Disappeared
Through the lens of the 'disappearance' of a piece of land, this article analyses land relations in a Bangladeshibastee(slum). The author builds an understanding of the local negotiation of ownership in an area wheredakhal(forceful occupation) is the main starting point for the assessment of ownership. The property regime in thebasteeemerges out of a web of relationships between different landlords, strongmen, elected officials and (local and nat…
Whoever Has the Stick Guides the Buffalo’
This article examines the relationship between the concept of neutrality in community mediation and partisan party politics in Nepal. Focusing on one donor-sponsored, US model-based community mediation programme in the Terai, this article contributes to a growing literature on authority formation and the role of party politicians in post-conflict Nepal. It argues that both neutrality and bias in dispute settlement are constitutive of building (We…
The Bangladesh party-state
Since independence in 1971, both civilian and military regimes have ruled Bangladesh. As many other military regimes did, the latter civilianised their rule through the formation of political parties and participation in general elections. When diachronically analysing political formations in Bangladesh, it is appealing to make a clear-cut distinction between autocratic and democratic regimes. However, this article argues that throughout its post…
Constellations of Power and Authority in the Political Economy of Illegal Timber Extraction in BTAD, Assam
This article seeks to comprehend the way the illegal timber economy in the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Council (BTAD) in Assam is integrated within a constellation of power and authority. Based on over ten months of ethnographic field research, our analysis shows that the timber trade is indeed characterized by what can be conceptualized as an excess of sovereignty. However, a burdened agency is still exercised by those in the timber trade. M…
The Past, Present and Future of Slum Property Regimes in Chittagong, Bangladesh
This article argues for the need to take time into account when understanding land ownership in slums. It shows that this allows comprehending more accurately the place of land law and the specific forms that legal struggles over land take. Field research in a slum in Chittagong (in Bangladesh) reveals that while contemporary practices of ownership and transfer might appear to be informal and illegal, they are not only grounded in historical form…
Segmentary Opposition, Vertical Integration and the Structure of Political Relations in Bangladesh
This article aims to conceptualize political relations in Bangladesh by building a descriptive model of these relations. It draws on the concept of segmentary opposition developed by Evans-Pritchard in his study of the Nuer political system and on the concept of vertical integration used in the study of both industrial relations and party structures in federal states. It is argued that the structure of political relations in Bangladesh is based o…
A Hundred Per Cent Good Man Cannot do Politics
This article seeks to better understand political violence in Bangladesh. Analysing the case of student politics, the article enquires into the productive use of violence by student activists and leaders. It argues that student violence should not be considered as a breakdown of order or a sign of state fragility, but as a means of gaining access to party-state resources and patronage. Violence operates to mark out and maintain power relations be…
The Politics of Order and Disturbance
An abstract is not available for this content. As you have access to this content, full HTML content is provided on this page. A PDF of this content is also available in through the 'Save PDF' action button
How to Be Visible in Student Politics
In Bangladeshi student politics, political performances in public spaces play an essential role in establishing patronage relationships and determining local authority structures. As Thomas Blom Hansen has famously argued, "visibility means everything" in such a context. With the emergence of social networking sites like Facebook, new digital public spaces have appeared. Focusing on ruling-party student activists at Rajshahi University, this arti…
Thief plates
Around half a million rickshaws ply the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh. To deal with the problem of theft, owner associations started to issue ‘thief plates’. These allow owners to get their rickshaws back at a reduced price. They also offer a protection against theft. This article argues that these plates form material mediators brokering relations between rickshaw owners and drivers, and thieves. Building on the literature on state-citizen broker…
Sand urbanism in Bangladesh transitions of sand extraction and trade in Dhaka-Narayanganj
Locating Sand
Sand extraction is quickly gaining attention both in the academic and policy communities. However, we lack grounded understandings of the multiple realities and impacts of sand extractions across the Global South. This special issue aims to provide a jumping-off point towards both empirically and conceptually sophisticated work on sand. This introduction wants to present the main themes emerging in the paper, key concepts used and developed and s…
Political settlements and the historical development of sand governance in Morocco
Claiming the People's Past
This book offers a global and systematic overview of populist politics of history in the twenty-first century. An international group of scholars interrogates how and why populists engage with the past. Twelve case studies focus on uses of history and memory by populist movements across the globe – ranging from Brazil to Bangladesh, from Poland to Tanzania. Five thematic chapters zoom in on key features of populism: its relation to time, national…
Moving sand
Sand Mining, Non‐Farm Employment and a Local Labour Force in Rural Bangladesh
This study focuses on the role of sand mining in rural livelihoods in Bangladesh, where the surge in sand extraction has raised environmental concerns. This study situates itself within the literature on Artisanal and Small‐Scale Mining (ASM), emphasizing the vital role of sand mining in diversifying rural economies. We found that a mixed‐methods approach, including a comprehensive livelihoods survey and qualitative fieldwork, was needed to uncov…
Governing Artisanal and Small-scale Sand Mining in Bangladesh
This article uses an in-country comparative approach to investigate the governance of artisanal and small-scale river sand mining in Bangladesh, focusing particularly on sector heterogeneity, tax farming and power imbalances. It analyses sand governance in two diverse sand-mining sites in Bangladesh - one mechanized and large, and the other manual and small-scale. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, the study reveals that …
Smuggling Nostalgia
For decades, cattle smuggling was a win-win business for both India and Bangladesh---the former producing surplus cattle and the latter having a high demand for beef. Every year, thousands of cattle made their way into Bangladesh informally through porous international borders. Although multiple stakeholders profited from this trade, borderlanders from almost all walks of life---bordering villages of Jashore and Chapai Nawabganj districts of Bang…
Political science (16 works) · Law (15 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Geography (12 works) · Law (12 works) · Politics (12 works) · Business (11 works) · Economics (10 works) · Political economy (8 works) · South Asian Studies and Conflicts (8 works)