Ali Riaz

Ālī Rīyāja

Is Bangladesh becoming a Taliban state? The question has become urgent in light of the growing strength of militant groups supposedly aligned with Al Quaida, the landslide victory of the center-right coalition in the general election of October 2001, and the deliberate and planned violence against religious minorities that followed. God Willing explores the explosive issue of Talibanization by analyzing the politics of Islamism in the world's third most populous Muslim country. Ali Riaz helps the reader to understand the emergence of Islamism as a legitimate democratic political in a largely secular state, as opposed to the media's sensational portrayal of Bangladesh as a country overrun by Islamist forces with a supranational agenda. The author compares Bangladesh with Indonesia and Pakistan, thus adding a valuable global context for evaluating the politics of Muslim countries.

The Politics of Islamism in Bangladesh

God Willing

Subho Basu

Paradise Lost examines the state-society relationships in Nepal and demonstrates that the nature of the state, disjuncture between the state and the society, and the rupture of the ideological hegemony of the ruling class of Nepal have created a situation where existing institutional frameworks are disintegrating and the state is rapidly unraveling. Dr. Ali Riaz and Dr. Subho Basu analyze the roles of ethnicity, identity, and deprivation, in engendering discontent and the rise of the Maoists as a formidable political force. Mindful of the geo-strategic importance of the country, this book contextualizes these domestic developments within the post-9/11 global world. Jointly authored by a political scientist and a historian this book brings together structural and historical perspectives. Written in an engaging language, Paradise Lost? will appeal to political scientists, historians, sociologists, and those interested in current affairs.

State Failure in Nepal

Paradise Lost?

Mohammad Sajjadur Rahman

In the past decade, Bangladesh has achieved significant social and economic progress. Despite high population density, a limited natural-resource base, underdeveloped infrastructure, frequent natural disasters and political uncertainty, the country has recorded positive developments in terms of broad economic and social indicators. This Handbook presents a comprehensive and interdisciplinary resource on the politics, society and economy of Bangladesh today. Divided into six thematic sections, the Handbook focuses on relevant issues and trends on: History and the making of contemporary Bangladesh Politics and institutions Economy and development Energy and environment State, society and rights Security and external relations Written by a team of international experts in the field, the chapters provide an accessible and up-to-date insight into contemporary Bangladesh. The Handbook will be of interest to students and academics of South Asian studies, as well as policymakers, journalists and others who wish to learn more about this increasingly important country.

Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Bangladesh

This Pivot explores the mechanism of election manipulation in ostensibly democratic but essentially authoritarian systems called the hybrid regime, using the 2018 parliamentary elections in Bangladesh as an example. The 2018 election has delivered an unprecedented victory to the incumbent Bangladesh Awami League. Elections pose serious dilemmas for the leaders of hybrid regimes. While contested elections bolster their claims of democracy and augment their legitimacy, they can also threaten the status quo. Faced with the challenge, the incumbents tend to hold stage-managed elections. This book offers incisive examination of Bangladesh’s political environment, rigorous scrutiny of the roles of state institutions including the law enforcing agencies, and meticulous analysis of election results. It also fills in a gap in the extant hybrid regime literature which seldom explores the strategies of engineered elections.

Explaining the 2018 Bangladeshi Election

Voting in a Hybrid Regime

Contributed articles on the life and works of Tasalimā Nāsarina, Bengali author from Bangladesh.

Contexts, Contents & Constructions

(Re)reading Taslima Nasrin

This book probes the causes of and conditions for the preference of the members of the British-Bangladeshi community for a religion-based identity vis-à-vis ethnicity-based identity, and the influence of Islamists in shaping the discourse. 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. Empirically grounded but enriched with in-depth analysis, and written in an accessible language this study is an invaluable reference for academics, policy makers and community activists. Students and researchers of British politics, ethnic/migration/diaspora studies, cultural studies, and political Islam will find the book extremely useful.

A leap of faith

Islam and identity politics among British-Bangladeshis

In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2011, discussions on ties between Islamic religious education institutions, namely madrassahs, and transnational terrorist groups have featured prominently in the Western media. In the frenzied coverage of events, however, vital questions have been overlooked: What do we know about the madrassahs? Should Western policymakers be alarmed by the recent increase in the number of these institutions in Muslim countries? Is there any connection between them and the "global jihad"? Ali Riaz responds to these questions through an in-depth examination of the madraassahs in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. In Faithful Education, he examines these institutions and their roles in relation to current international politics.

Madrassahs in South Asia

Faithful Education

C. Christine Fair

The past decade has seen a marked policy focus upon Bangladesh, home to nearly 150 million Muslims; it has attracted the attention of the world due to weak governance and the rising tide of Islamist violence. This book provides a broad-ranging analysis of the growth and impact of "political Islam" in Bangladesh, and reactions to it. Grounded in empirical data, experts on Bangladesh examine the changing character of Bangladeshi politics since 1971, with a particular focus on the convergence of governance, Islamism and militancy. They examine the impacts of Islamist politics on education, popular culture and civil society, and the regional and extraregional connections of the Bangladeshi Islamist groups. Bringing together journalists and academics - all of whom have different professional and methodological backgrounds and field experiences which impact upon these issues from different vantage points - the book assesses Bangladesh’s own prospects for internal stability as well as its wider impact upon South Asian security. It argues that the political environment of Bangladesh, the appeal of Islamist ideology to the general masses and the dynamic adaptability of Islamist organizations all demonstrate that Bangladesh will continue to focus the attention of policy makers and analysts alike. This is a timely, incisive and original explanation of the rise of political Islam and Islamic militancy in Bangladesh.

Ali Riaz

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