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8 September 2024

Quo Vadis Bangladesh?

Calvin Nixon

Introduction

On August 5th, 2024, Sheikh Hasina got deposed as Prime Minister of Bangladesh.1 This marked the end of a remarkable era in Bangladeshi politics, as Hasina reigned at the top of Bangladesh since coming to power for a second time in 2009, after previously serving from 1996 until 2001.2 Being the head of the secular-minded Awami League (AL)3 , Prime Minister Hasina oversaw a Bangladeshi economy which registered extraordinary growth rates until the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.4 While her time in office was marked by positive stories such as a successful garment industry5 , declining child mortality6 , a vastly rising GDP per capita7 and her government’s fight against Islamist extremism, 8 these achievements were paralleled by growing authoritarianism.9 Thus, the AL was virtually unopposed in its parliamentary rule since 2014 when the main opposition party – the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) – boycotted the elections.

Hasina’s ouster from power came only months after she got reelected in an election that was widely perceived as neither free nor fair and which again got boycotted by the BNP.11 Protests against the Hasina government started in early June in response to the reinstation of a 30 percent quota for descendants of freedom fighters of the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971. This reversed a decision made by the Hasina government in 2018 on the same matter.12 Resultingly, students felt that they did not receive a fair opportunity on the job market, as the quota targeted coveted jobs in the state bureaucracy.13 Due to the government’s violent response to the initial protests and the worsening economic situation, the protests quickly spread throughout Bangladesh. As the government responded with increasing violence and introduced daily curfews and internet shutdowns14, the Hasina government seemed to not only quickly loose support domestically, but also came under international pressure.

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