Distinguished Professor Ali Riaz recently presented at the Inauguration of the Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia at Brown University. The two-day event, “Marginalization & Inclusion in South Asia: Economics, Politics, and Culture,” explored economic, political, and cultural aspects of several countries in South Asia.
Riaz, in his presentation on the politics of Bangladesh, discussed the political economy of the current economic crisis there. He argued that the increasingly non-inclusive political system, which is heading toward an autocracy, is the underlying cause of the current economic situation. Bangladesh recently asked the International Monetary Fund for a $4.5 billion loan and reached out to the World Bank for more support.
Riaz noted that two engineered elections in 2014 and 2018 have been preceded and followed by a series of repressive legal and extralegal measures. These measures have created a culture of fear in the country and have not only marginalized opposition parties but also criminalized dissent, Riaz said.
