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"Pathways of Autocratization addresses contemporary global politics' one of the most important questions: how does a country regress from a democracy to an autocracy? This book offers a novel framework for understanding the processes that erode democracy and lead to autocracy and explains a specific instance of democratic backsliding in Bangladesh: the world's eighth most populous country. With probing analysis of events and trends of Bangladeshi politics, especially since 2009, the book contextualizes the country's autocratization process within global trends and compares it with others which have trod a similar path in recent decades, including Bolivia, Cambodia, Hungary, Poland, the Philippines and Turkey. The book discusses the implications of institutional changes, the role of pliant media, the contribution of ideology, and the conduct of international actors in the autocratization process while also mapping future trajectories for the country. Succinct, incisive, and thought provoking, this book is rich in its theoretical robustness and empirical details. This is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of democratic backsliding and prospects for reversing this trend"--

"Pathways of Autocratization addresses contemporary global politics' one of the most important questions: how does a country regress from a democracy to an autocracy? This book offers a novel framework for understanding the processes that erode democracy and lead to autocracy and explains a specific instance of democratic backsliding in Bangladesh: the world's eighth most populous country. With probing analysis of events and trends of Bangladeshi politics, especially since 2009, the book contextualizes the country's autocratization process within global trends and compares it with others which have trod a similar path in recent decades, including Bolivia, Cambodia, Hungary, Poland, the Philippines and Turkey. The book discusses the implications of institutional changes, the role of pliant media, the contribution of ideology, and the conduct of international actors in the autocratization process while also mapping future trajectories for the country. Succinct, incisive, and thought provoking, this book is rich in its theoretical robustness and empirical details. This is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of democratic backsliding and prospects for reversing this trend"--

This revised edition of Religion and Politics in South Asia presents a comprehensive analysis of the interaction of religion and politics in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The book highlights that in recent decades, religion, religio-political parties, and religious rhetoric have become dominant features of the political scenes in all seven countries. By presenting each country's political system and the socio-economic environment within which the interactions of religion and politics are taking place, chapters explore various factors that affect both the lives of people in the region and global politics. Designed in an easy-to-follow structure, the book includes sections on the history and politics, major religions and religious composition of the population, legal and constitutional provisions regarding religion, religious freedom and the treatment of minorities, the political landscape, and religio-political parties and groups within the countries. In doing so, the book addresses concerns including the effects of religio-political interactions on political stability, human rights, and the implications for internal and external security situations. A timely contribution written by experts in their field, this book is a useful guide to religion and politics and will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students in South Asian politics, Asian politics, religion and politics, history, and international studies.

Intro -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- Bibliography -- Chapter 2: What Is a Hybrid Regime? -- Bibliography -- Chapter 3: Bangladesh: From an Electoral Democracy to a Hybrid Regime (1991-2018) -- Bibliography -- Chapter 4: Manufacturing a Climate of Fear -- Bibliography -- Chapter 5: Does Election Matter in a Hybrid Regime? -- Bibliography -- Chapter 6: The Mechanism of Manipulation -- Bibliography -- Chapter 7: The Election Day: Fear, Exclusion, and Persecution Come Together -- Bibliography -- Chapter 8: Election Results: A Victory Too Big to Believe? -- The Results -- The Base Abandoned the BNP? -- The Really Very Large Victory -- The Tight Contest Vanishes -- Vanishing Secured Seats of the BNP? -- EVM Results Point to a Different Turnout? -- Bibliography -- Chapter 9: Mutation of Hybrid Regime and Quo Vadis Bangladesh -- Bibliography -- Appendix A: Bangladesh Parliamentary Election 2018 Basic Facts -- Candidates by Alliance Affiliations -- Appendix B: Bangladesh Parliamentary Elections 1973-2014-Fairness Index -- Index.

1. Introduction -- 2. What is a Hybrid Regime? -- 3. Bangladesh: From an Electoral Democracy to a Hybrid Regime (1991-2019) -- 4. Manufacturing a Climate of Fear -- 5. Does Election Matter in a Hybrid Regime? -- 6. The Mechanism of Manipulation -- 7. The Election Day: Fear, Exclusion and Persecution Come Together -- 8. Election Results: A Victory Too Big to Believe? -- 9. Mutation of a Hybrid regime and Quo Vadis Bangladesh

The first book-length study to examine identity politics among the Bangladeshi diaspora delves into the micro-level dynamics, the internal and external factors and the role of the state and locates these within the broad framework of Muslim identity and Islamism, citizenship and the future of multiculturalism in Europe

AbstractIn recent decades, the relationships between religion and politics, particularly between religion and the state, have been widely discussed, yet relationships between authoritarian rulers and religion have not received their due attention. This fourth article in the 2024 World Affairs special issue addresses this lacuna and argues against the conventional wisdom that these two entities are always hostile to each other. The study contends that authoritarian rulers have used three strategies vis‐à‐vis religion as an ideology and religious actors as a political force. Autocrats have adopted repression and cooptation strategies to deal with religious actors and utilized religion as a tool of legitimation. The article offers a case study of Bangladesh which has witnessed the growing salience of religion in politics since 1976, although its 1972 constitution pledged secularism as a state principle. The article examines the strategies used during three phases of military and civilian authoritarianism—1976–1981, 1982–1990, and since 2011—and discusses the relationship between the authoritarian rulers and religion.

This paper challenges the popular perception that Bangladesh has become the latest battleground between secularism and Islam and problematizes the simplified understanding and the binarization of religion and secularism in Bangladesh. It argues that extant discussions on the one hand overlooks the historical background of the interactions of religion and while on the other hand, it ignores the extant multiplicity of both Islamic practices and the understanding of secularism. The author calls for a nuanced understanding of the complex historical and contemporaneous developments regarding relationships between religion and politics. (Asian Aff/GIGA)