Contested National Identity and Political Crisis in Bangladesh

Historical Analysis of the Dynamics of Bangladeshi Society and Politics

Dados Bibliográficos

ID6233856
AutoresAkhand Akhtar Hossain (0000-0002-5224-7545, autor correspondente)
Ano2015
Volume23
Fascículo3
Páginas366-396
Data de publicação2015-09-02
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAsian Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0218-5377 • E-ISSN: 1750-7812
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02185377.2015.1073164
OpenAlexW1927180151
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas15
Referências citadas48

This paper develops the theme that the ongoing political polarization and political crisis in Bangladesh since its independence from Pakistan in 1971 reflect the fundamental weaknesses of the pillars of Bangladeshi society and national identity. The paper adopts an historical approach to explain why and how Muslim nationalism, which was the basis for the establishment of Pakistan, has re-emerged in contemporary Bangladeshi society and politics and is competing against Bengali ethnicity, language, culture and secularism ('Bengali nationalism') within an emerging 'two-party' political system. However, instead of establishing a stable political system following the Hotelling–Downs principle of democracy, the Bangladeshi society/polity has been polarized and divided almost vertically on the question of national identity and political philosophy and created sustained political instability and uncertainty. This has stifled the formation and consolidation of a national identity based on ethnicity/language/culture or religion/territory/political history or that have elements of both. Neither ethnicity/language/culture/secularism-based nationalism (Bengali nationalism) nor predominantly Muslim-territorial nationalism ('Bangladeshi nationalism') alone can dominate and flourish in Bangladeshi society and polity; instead, the objective conditions in the country dictate that a competitive democratic system of politics which accommodates aspects of secularism, language, Muslim identity and Islamic ethical–moral codes remains the feasible political discourse for forming and consolidating the country's multi-racial, multi-religious national identity over the long run and its survival as a sovereign state

Bengali · Democracy · Development economics · Economics · National identity · Nationalism · Political culture · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Polity · Secularism · Sociology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Bangladesh Politics, Society, and Development · Gender Studies · Law · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East