Distinguished Professor Ali Riaz has presented on democratic backsliding and reversal of the trend in Bangladesh at the American Political Science Association (APSA) conference, and at panels at Harvard University, and at Yale University. Riaz, in his presentation at a roundtable in the APSA titled “On Democratic Retrenchment in Asia,” explained how Bangladesh’s democratic journey took a reverse path under Sheikh Hasina between 2009-24. Hasina was toppled by a popular uprising on August 5, and she fled the country. Riaz demonstrated that democratic backsliding in Bangladesh had occurred due to external actors, particularly the unqualified support of India and China to the autocratic regime, in addition to institutional changes through constitutional amendments, construction of legitimizing ideology, and failure of opposition to coalesce. He highlighted the collapse of the regime after a massacre which cost more than 800 lives.
At Harvard University, Riaz spoke in a panel titled “The Transition in Bangladesh and its Implications.” He identified four challenges to the Interim Government led by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus: establishing stability after the downfall of the Hasina regime, addressing the economic crisis it has inherited from the deposed regime which has plundered billions of dollars from national exchequer over the years, arranging a free election after making necessary institutional reforms including the constitution, and holding those who have committed crimes against humanity under the previous regime accountable through trial. This event was hosted by the Mittal Institute, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University, and the Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia at Brown University on September 12.
Yale University organized a daylong conference on the popular uprising on September 13 titled “Monsoon Revolution in Bangladesh.” It was organized by the Yale Research Initiative on Innovation and Scale (Y-RISE) and the South Asian Studies Council. Riaz speaking at the panel “Reforming Institutions: A New Framework for Bangladesh’s Future” underscored that institutions have been decimated by the deposed regime to establish a personalistic autocratic rule. He said that the task ahead of the interim government is to rebuild a democratic state.
