The Bangladesh crisis: a wake-up call for south Asia

Аннотация

Eliminating Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh sparked protests, and military intervention OPEN ACCESS in South Asia is a significant factor. Using a qualitative SUBMITED 11 November 2024 methodology that combines document analysis and a ACCEPTED 05 December 2024 review of various literature, this study looks into the PUBLISHED 20 January 2025 reasons behind the crisis and how events unfolded by VOLUME Vol.07 Issue01 2025 different actors involved and ended between countries within the region. CITATION Results show the steady decay of democratic standards during the 15 years of Hasina's reign, with suppression COPYRIGHT © 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms of speech, curtailment of dissent, and election rigging. of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License. Low-level discontent caused by intractable socio- economic inequities, rising prices, and unemployment combined with ethnic issues (not least discrimination against minorities) increased social tensions. The crisis was further complicated by external interference from regional powers, particularly India and China, which challenged the sovereignty of Bangladesh. Reservation schemes meant to uplift these marginalized groups were subverted for political advantage, based on which tensions and inequality only increased. The crisis highlights the visceral need for democratic norms, inclusive governance and equity, and resilience to external interference. It details the regional consequences of the crisis, which range from potential spill-over in neighboring states to disruption of regional trade and investment to possible rising instability. It urges South Asian countries to lower their political temperature, re-commit to democratic norms and values, strengthen socioeconomic realities, and institutionalize regional cooperation to avoid a repeat of such crises. Keywords: Bangladesh, Democracy, Democratic Norms, Military Intervention, Political Crisis, Protests, South Asia. Introduction: The fall of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024 has reverberated across South Asia, with weeks of student-led protests and civil unrest, culminating in the army eventually removing her The American Journal of Political Science Law and Criminology 01 https://www.theamericanjournals.com/index.php/tajpslc The American Journal of Political Science Law and Criminology from power, leaving the nation adrift and the region Frustration over the lack of political engagement and holding its breath (Rahman, 2024; Sharma, 2024). The growing centralization of power among a few is culmination of her 15 years in power — during which demonstrated in the protests occurring in Bangladesh" Bangladesh has achieved unprecedented economic (Mehta, 2023). growth and development since independence in 1971 The protests' size and intensity surprised the Hasina — brings deep fears for the future of democracy and government, revealing a softer underbelly to what it stability, not only in Bangladesh but for much of Asia thought was power it could lean back on. The military, South. It has dived the nation into a gloomy sort of which had not intervened until this point, came in to uncertainty, anticlimactic bringing back the political 'bring order back' at the helm of violence engulfing the stagnation and instability that Bangladesh has dealt situation. The military move, however, turned in a with in most of history (The Daily Star, 2024). This was practical sense into a coup and made Hasina resign "a huge blow to democracy in South Asia" (The Hindu, while paving the way for an interim government led by 2024). Muhammad Yunus -- much respected for his Bangladesh has had a lengthy and often violent microfinance and poverty alleviation work. More than political past filled with coups, killings, and just historical, this intervention illustrates precisely why authoritarianism. However, the current crisis is we must guard against arbitrary rule and serve other different: It combines mass street power with military students of power, showcasing the pitfalls of opening intrusion into civilian areas of operations and the such a wide legal door to executive discretion (Dicey, fantastic appointment of Nobel Prize winner 1885). Muhammad Yunus to head a government temporarily. Yunus, a political outsider without prior experience in The protests were "the largest and most sustained government, was brought on board to restore some anti-government demonstrations in Bangladesh's semblance of stability and credibility to the beleaguered history" (The New York Times, 2024). The military political system. This hints at alternative leadership intervention is "a dire precedent for the region" (The when a political crisis strikes and the hope for a clean Kathmandu Post, 2024). slate (Paris, 2002). Economic and social change is a This crisis faced its nascence over the years, where, on powerful force that creates transition pressures and the one hand, with an exclusive focus