Policy

Preserving Places of Peace for Refugee Women and Girls

Beyond food, water and shelter, refugees make it clear that safety, dignity, and purpose are also essential to a meaningful life. But cuts under the prioritization exercise jeopardize this holistic commitment to Rohingya well-being.

The World Heard “Rape Me” 30 Years Ago. Why Are We Still Here?

We need more than purple sarees; we need greater representation of women in Parliament to steer the budget toward safety and a localized commitment to the UN Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security agenda.

Should the Police Killings Be Investigated?

If unlawful killings by police are prosecuted while unlawful killings of police are ignored, the law becomes partisan. If mob killings are investigated while state killings are diluted, the law becomes cynical.

A Mandate Won. Trust Now at Risk.

This government came to power with a democratic mandate. But it risks squandering it. City administrations must look neutral. International crimes prosecutions must feel independent. And the central bank must signal credibility beyond politics.

Why the New Governor Won't Work

When it comes to the central bank governor, optics are everything. If he is perceived to be the government's man, then no one will have the necessary faith in him, and he will fail before he even starts.

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

If the BNP's goal had been to signal to the Bangladeshi people that everything their adversaries say about them is true, that nothing has changed from the time they were last in office 20 years ago, that they remain exactly the same party of cronyism, corruption, and contempt for public opinion, they could not have done a better job.

An Unforced Error

Keeping interest rates artificially low is a recipe for disaster. We have been here before -- not even too long ago -- and we know how this story ends. It won't be pleasant for anyone, least of all the newly-elected government.

AI and Bangladesh: A Turning Point for Development

If Bangladesh treats artificial intelligence simply as another digital tool, it risks falling behind in a world where advantage increasingly rests on capability and commodified intelligence rather than labour alone.

Beyond the F-Word

Calling it fascism narrows our field of vision. It directs us toward interwar Europe -- uniforms, total mobilization, ideological conquest -- when our own trajectory resembles something different.

Why the New Government Must Kill the Power Oligarchy to Save the Republic

By erecting solar canopies over these historic arteries, we can generate thousands of megawatts of clean energy while providing the shade necessary to preserve our water levels. Beneath these canopies, the state must build structured aquaculture systems, renting them back to local farmers.

Something appears to have gone seriously wrong with Bangladesh's election dispute process

The absence of any election recounts, with requests allegedly refused, will allow grievances to fester

Bangladeshis Have Chosen to Temper Government Power. And That's a Great Thing.

No one can predict exactly what Bangladesh's constitutional architecture will look like by year's end. The process will be messy, contentious, and imperfect. But the direction is clear. Two-thirds of voters have chosen a path away from capricious rule toward a system where power is tempered.

Bangladesh Has Woken Up to a New Reality

Tarique Rahman can do what Sheikh Hasina would not: trust the Parliament he leads. Let it examine the Yunus era, line by line. Keep what works. Amend what can be saved. In that sequence, through that process, a course will emerge.

Trump’s Second-Term Foreign Policy and the Remaking of Global Order

The question now is not only how America will wield its power, but how the rest of the world will respond to a superpower increasingly guided by transactional interests rather than shared norms.

The Case For Voting Yes

Opponents of the referendum write as though rejecting this package will clear the way for a more measured, item by item process of constitutional improvement. But nothing in Bangladesh’s recent history suggests that such a sequence will materialize on its own.

Which Charter Reforms Are You Voting For? No One Knows.

The wording in the referendum question, set out in the four separate categories of reforms, only clearly match with 20 of the 47 numbered proposals set out in the July Charter