Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, adorned by his followers/countrymen as Bangabandhu, is the most prominent political figure in the emergence of Bangladesh. Rahman transcended his contemporaries and even his political mentors considering the impact he had been able to create in the creation of the newly born nation-state. This book presents a comprehensive overview of the leadership and legacy of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib and his daughter Sheikh Hasina in framing of modern Bangladesh. It brings themes like Bengali nationalist movement; Bangabandhu and his political socialization; formation of Bangladesh; political and administrative philosophy of Bangabandhu; economic and development thoughts of Bangabandhu; and Sheikh Hasina and the symbol of routinization of charisma. Topical and lucid, this book is a must read for scholars and researchers of politcal science, South Asian politics, South Asian history, political leadership, political sociology and also for Bangladeshi diaspora.

This book explores the relationship between bureaucrats and elected politicians in Bangladesh and discusses how this impacts governance and development in the country from an empirical perspective. It looks at the interplay of politics and bureaucracy in ancient societies, western democracies and in the developing world while highlighting the uniqueness of the Bangladesh experience and its indigenous contexts of local governance. The author presents a historical overview of the nature of political development, shift of regimes in Bangladesh, and the role of various agents and stakeholders. Through a detailed study, the book provides an analytical and theoretical framework to understanding the linkages between politics and bureaucracy, governance and development in South Asia and Bangladesh, with implications for geopolitics and economic growth. This book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and students of political economy, development studies, public administration, comparative politics as well as to policymakers, bureaucrats, government bodies, and especially those concerned with Bangladesh.

This book explores the relationship between bureaucrats and elected politicians in Bangladesh and discusses how this impacts governance and development in the country from an empirical perspective. It looks at the interplay of politics and bureaucracy in ancient societies, western democracies and in the developing world while highlighting the uniqueness of the Bangladesh experience and its indigenous contexts of local governance. The author presents a historical overview of the nature of political development, shift of regimes in Bangladesh, and the role of various agents and stakeholders. Through a detailed study, the book provides an analytical and theoretical framework to understanding the linkages between politics and bureaucracy, governance and development in South Asia and Bangladesh, with implications for geopolitics and economic growth. This book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and students of political economy, development studies, public administration, comparative politics as well as to policymakers, bureaucrats, government bodies, and especially those concerned with Bangladesh.

Bureaucracy is an integral part of modern democratic polity. The modern democratic states are built upon the bureaucratic structure that undergrid these states, although there is a vast difference in bureaucratic traditions and cultures in between developed and developing democratic and democratizing societies. As a developing region, South Asia has a longstanding tradition of bureaucratic organization. The traditional bureaucracies were patrimonial in nature, where loyalty was valued more than professionalism. However, the replacement of the concept of modern rational-legal bureaucracy in traditional societies like South Asia was initiated by the colonial master rulers or imperial powers following the conceptualization of modern bureaucracy by Max Weber. Their (colonial rulers) intention was to establish a steel frame of administration in South Asia so that their hegemony remains intact even after the breakdown of colonial hegemony. Studies of democratic politics in India, the military dominated authoritarian state of Pakistan and the newly democratic state of Bangladesh have addressed this heavily in the literature of politics and administration, but far less explained the process of governance, particularly explaining the politicization of the bureaucracy in South Asia. The role of bureaucracy in governance is not a new phenomenon in the discourse of politics and administration. Irrespective of the regions and the systems of government, professional mandarins or bureaucracies (rational-legal, neutral and merit-based) are exceedingly involved in the process of governance and development, and immensely contribute to the development by serving as advisers, inventors, and decision-makers along with the elected politicians as the agent of change. Thus, a study has been carried out on the politics-bureaucracy relationship and the role of bureaucracy in governance. Yet, academics are interested to understand the nature of the relationship between politics and bureaucracy, their transition, and their mutual interaction in politics from different perspectives and academic point of view with intellectual inquiry. This monograph is with the South Asian bureaucracy, focusing on the light of politicization.