This book explores the role of government in the governing process of Bangladesh. It primarily focuses on the dilemmas and constraints faced by the successive democratic governments elected since the early 1990s. Bangladesh has had a new democratic beginning since the early 1990s and formally remained a democracy for the last the three decades. Despite impressive performance in the economic and social fields, the country has lagged far behind most of the new democracies in the political realm. This book identifies how representative institutions of governance have gradually declined under democratic governments in Bangladesh, and how disagreements on the 'basic rules of the game' have made the task of governing extremely difficult and democratic consolidation problematic. This book is a significant and comprehensive analysis that identifies and explains the implications of the crises in governance for democratic consolidation in Bangladesh. It will be of interest to academics studying Area Studies, in particular South Asian Studies, and the increasingly researched areas of governance, public policy, and administration.

This book explores the role of government in the governing process of Bangladesh. It primarily focuses on the dilemmas and constraints faced by the successive democratic governments elected since the early 1990s. Bangladesh has had a new democratic beginning since the early 1990s and formally remained a democracy for the last the three decades. Despite impressive performance in the economic and social fields, the country has lagged far behind most of the new democracies in the political realm. This book identifies how representative institutions of governance have gradually declined under democratic governments in Bangladesh, and how disagreements on the 'basic rules of the game' have made the task of governing extremely difficult and democratic consolidation problematic. This book is a significant and comprehensive analysis that identifies and explains the implications of the crises in governance for democratic consolidation in Bangladesh. It will be of interest to academics studying Area Studies, in particular South Asian Studies, and the increasingly researched areas of governance, public policy, and administration.

This book explores the development, decline and resurgence of parliaments in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Although the three parliaments formally have a common origin and follow almost similar rules and procedures, substantial variations can be observed in their behavior. By analyzing the nature of memberships, processes of legislation and oversight of the executive, the book assesses the impact of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi parliaments. In addition to identifying the ways in which different institutional actors, particularly the parliament and the judiciary, define their roles and relationships, the book investigates the role of committees and the significance and effect of female legislators. While showing that the parliament in India has had a steady growth since its inception, notwithstanding the allegation that it has declined in recent years, the author also demonstrates the differential performance of the parliaments in Bangladesh and Pakistan. In particular, the parliament in Pakistan is shown to likely be able to upgrade its status from a 'minimal' to at least a 'marginal' legislature, while the Bangladesh parliament risks becoming a 'minimal' legislature. A valuable resource to use when comparing strategies and outcomes of postcolonial developments in the operation of parliaments, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of political and economic development, governance and South Asian Studies.

Good policies are an important prerequisite of good governance, and any effort to change one is likely to affect the other. In emerging democracies, such as Bangladesh, a redefinition of roles and responsibilities of different actors in the policy and governing process can be noticed. This book identifies and analyses issues related to the making and implementation of public policies in Bangladesh over the last four decades (1972-2012). It explores the implications of the change that has taken place in policy and governance environment in Bangladesh. Focusing on several important sectoral and sub-sectoral polices, it examines the impact and limitations of the change. Chapters are structured into four parts: Public Policy, Bureaucracy and Parliament; Cases of Public Policy; Women in Governance and Public Administration; Ethics, Innovations, and Public Service Delivery, and the book is a valuable resource for researchers in the field of development studies, public policy and South Asian politics.

This title was first published in 2002: This comprehensive account of the growth, decline and resurgence of parliament in Bangladesh examines the 'new' parliament that have been elected in Bangladesh since the 1990s. It identifies key dimensions of their activities such as the nature of legizlation passed, the types of issues raised, the strategies that members have adopted to get things done, the techniques they have used to resolve conflicts and the measures they have taken to strengthen the parliament. Examining the role of the opposition MPs and government back benchers in the parliamentary process, Nizam Ahmed also provides an insightful guide to the factors that influence behaviour and analyzes their significance for democratic consolidation. Combining both theory and practice, this worthy contribution will prove its value as both an accessible reference and a revealing read to parliamentarians and parliamentary scholars alike.

This title was first published in 2002: This comprehensive account of the growth, decline and resurgence of parliament in Bangladesh examines the 'new' parliament that have been elected in Bangladesh since the 1990s. It identifies key dimensions of their activities such as the nature of legizlation passed, the types of issues raised, the strategies that members have adopted to get things done, the techniques they have used to resolve conflicts and the measures they have taken to strengthen the parliament. Examining the role of the opposition MPs and government back benchers in the parliamentary process, Nizam Ahmed also provides an insightful guide to the factors that influence behaviour and analyzes their significance for democratic consolidation. Combining both theory and practice, this worthy contribution will prove its value as both an accessible reference and a revealing read to parliamentarians and parliamentary scholars alike.

This is a description and assessment of Asian parliaments. It looks at the parliaments of India, Bangladesh, Korea, Japan, China, Mongolia and Nepal and assesses key variables that determine the impact of parliaments.

This edited volume explores the state of inclusive governance in South Asia. It particularly examines the nature and scope of inclusiveness noticed in the parliament and civil service in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, and the judiciary in Bangladesh. Where previous literature has stressed the need for the inclusion of external stakeholders, this volume highlights the importance of the involvement of internal stakeholders. This includes 'insiders' such as opposition members and government backbenchers in parliament and specialists in the civil service. The main emphasis is on identifying the extent to which insiders in different institutions have the scope to participate in the governing process. Furthermore, this volume also seeks to assess the implications of inclusiveness/exclusiveness for democratic governance. By exploring the link between inclusiveness and accountability, its contributors are able to draw out the strengths and weaknesses of the existing mechanisms of accountability, particularly social accountability. This innovative collection will appeal to students and scholars of gender and development studies, public policy and administration, international relations, law and political science.

This edited volume examines policies aimed at increasing the representation of women in governing institutions in six South Asian countries. Divided into three parts, it addresses the implications of uniformity and diversity for the substantive representation of women in parliament, civil service and local government. The contributing authors explore the scope and limits of 'positive discriminatory policies' within distinct country contexts, and the implications of the lack of such policies in other countries. Their findings shed new light on the extent to which the higher presence of women in different governing institutions matters, particularly in respect of promoting women's issues; and also on the way men and women in different governing institutions look upon each other's roles and adopt strategies for mutual adjustment. This innovative collection will appeal to students and scholars of gender studies, public policy and administration, international relations, law and political science.

This edited volume explores the state of inclusive governance in South Asia. It particularly examines the nature and scope of inclusiveness noticed in the parliament and civil service in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, and the judiciary in Bangladesh. Where previous literature has stressed the need for the inclusion of external stakeholders, this volume highlights the importance of the involvement of internal stakeholders. This includes 'insiders' such as opposition members and government backbenchers in parliament and specialists in the civil service. The main emphasis is on identifying the extent to which insiders in different institutions have the scope to participate in the governing process. Furthermore, this volume also seeks to assess the implications of inclusiveness/exclusiveness for democratic governance. By exploring the link between inclusiveness and accountability, its contributors are able to draw out the strengths and weaknesses of the existing mechanisms of accountability, particularly social accountability. This innovative collection will appeal to students and scholars of gender and development studies, public policy and administration, international relations, law and political science.

This edited volume examines policies aimed at increasing the representation of women in governing institutions in six South Asian countries. Divided into three parts, it addresses the implications of uniformity and diversity for the substantive representation of women in parliament, civil service and local government. The contributing authors explore the scope and limits of 'positive discriminatory policies' within distinct country contexts, and the implications of the lack of such policies in other countries. Their findings shed new light on the extent to which the higher presence of women in different governing institutions matters, particularly in respect of promoting women's issues; and also on the way men and women in different governing institutions look upon each other's roles and adopt strategies for mutual adjustment. This innovative collection will appeal to students and scholars of gender studies, public policy and administration, international relations, law and political science.

Good policies are an important prerequisite of good governance, and any effort to change one is likely to affect the other. In emerging democracies, such as Bangladesh, a redefinition of roles and responsibilities of different actors in the policy and governing process can be noticed. This book identifies and analyses issues related to the making and implementation of public policies in Bangladesh over the last four decades (1972-2012). It explores the implications of the change that has taken place in policy and governance environment in Bangladesh. Focusing on several important sectoral and sub-sectoral polices, it examines the impact and limitations of the change. Chapters are structured into four parts: Public Policy, Bureaucracy and Parliament; Cases of Public Policy; Women in Governance and Public Administration; Ethics, Innovations, and Public Service Delivery, and the book is a valuable resource for researchers in the field of development studies, public policy and South Asian politics.

This book explores the development, decline and resurgence of parliaments in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Although the three parliaments formally have a common origin and follow almost similar rules and procedures, substantial variations can be observed in their behavior. By analyzing the nature of memberships, processes of legislation and oversight of the executive, the book assesses the impact of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi parliaments. In addition to identifying the ways in which different institutional actors, particularly the parliament and the judiciary, define their roles and relationships, the book investigates the role of committees and the significance and effect of female legislators. While showing that the parliament in India has had a steady growth since its inception, notwithstanding the allegation that it has declined in recent years, the author also demonstrates the differential performance of the parliaments in Bangladesh and Pakistan. In particular, the parliament in Pakistan is shown to likely be able to upgrade its status from a 'minimal' to at least a 'marginal' legislature, while the Bangladesh parliament risks becoming a 'minimal' legislature. A valuable resource to use when comparing strategies and outcomes of postcolonial developments in the operation of parliaments, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of political and economic development, governance and South Asian Studies.

This book is a study of the roles and relations of politicians and bureaucrats in the policy process of the upazila parishad (UZP) in Bangladesh in its formative phase. The analysis is directed at examining the ways the two perceived each other's roles and defined inter-role relationships in the policy process. The study reveals that the political and bureaucratic roles in the UZP did not remain mutually exclusive; rather one reinforced the other in a number of ways. Such reinforcement was governed more by mutuality of interests of the two sets of actors than by psychological affinities or ideological similarities. To attain their personal and organisational objectives, both politicians and bureaucrats were continually engaged in exchanging support and resources. Nothing appeared to be beyond the formal scope of exchange, not even rules. Hence, the inter-role relationship was characterised by reciprocity and interdependence. But such exchange, besides encouraging deviant behaviour and suppressing conflict, was fraught with the risk of giving rise to inertia and conservatism in the policy process. It also discouraged the growth of policy entrepreneurship in the UZP.