Impressions of Bangladesh
The Rule of Arms and the Politics of Exhortation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2869353 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert S Anderson (0000-0003-2759-4833, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1976 |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 443 |
| Publication date | 1976-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Pacific Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0030-851X • E-ISSN: 1715-3379 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2755498 |
| OpenAlex | W2314171002 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
A CENTRAL CONTRADICTION has emerged in Bangladesh between ambitious national plans for social and economic development, and the weakness of the local institutions to implement the programmes. Citizens have been urged to 'grow more food,' 'control the population' and 'serve the nation.' But these exhortations have come from an Administration governing by the rule of arms. The problem for the martial law administrators has been to secure the consent and participation of the people in order to promote rural development which will, in turn, justify martial law. This consent and participation required local institutions which would embody initiative and enthusiasm, but the combination of discredited and weak local institutions and military officers who declared themselves as an 'interim' caretaker-government cast doubt on the achievement of the official goals of national development. This article examines the effects of the coups between November I975 and May i976, particularly those which influenced development programmes in food and agriculture production, population control, and natural resources and industry.* What can be called 'the politics of exhortation' in Bangladesh was the attempt of the rulers to gain the participation of the ruled in development programmes in the absence of strong local institutions and mobilizing ideas. The rulers were men generally over 40 years old who had easy access to food, housing and health care, were educated in English, could leave the country with their funds intact, and were backed by domestic and foreign groups with major investments in
Political science · Politics · Bangladesh Politics, Society, and Development · Law · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · South Asian Studies and Conflicts
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,09 |
| Citation span | 1982 - 2026 (45) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |