Politics

Do Games of Thrones Ever End?

Nothing in recent geopolitical trends suggests pressures on Bangladesh’s economy are going to get simpler. Everything points to a need to accept that simply returning to the status quo will be insufficient. The economy must exceed both performance and expectations of the past if the nation is ever to hope to catch up with its competitors.

The Changing of the Guard

After liberation in 1971, the decisions made in those first years shaped the country for decades. The people who rise to state power or prominence in the next few years will define Bangladesh's trajectory for a generation.

The French Connection

Our future cannot be entrusted to outrage merchants on YouTube. It must rest with leaders and citizens who understand that justice is built through patience, responsibility, and steady labor, not performed for clicks and applause.

The Jamaat Factor

Jamaat has emerged as one of the two main parties in the current dispensation. Its student wing has won student council elections in five universities. Its online activists dominate the cyberspace. It has consistently polled sufficiently well to emerge as the main opposition in the next parliament if not outright win the election.

Diplomatic Chatter and the Distortion of Political Truth

The notion that Jamaat-e-Islami is on the cusp of ruling Bangladesh tells us less about Bangladesh’s politics and more about the fantasies and anxieties of those observing it from insulated rooms.

Is Honesty Alone What We Want in a Leader?

To understand whether an individual is honest, we need to know whether that person is committed to alternation of power, whether he understands the value of inclusivity and dissent, whether he knows that people with different ideas live within the same society, and whether he is willing to let them survive, grow, and challenge him.

From Davos to Dhaka: How Mark Carney Predicted Exactly What Just Happened to Bangladesh Cricket

The question isn't whether Bangladesh made the tactically perfect decision. The question is whether middle powers everywhere -- in cricket, in trade, in international relations -- are ready to stop performing compliance and start building alternatives. That's what sovereignty looks like when the old order collapses and the new one hasn't been built yet.

The Case for Televised Debates

Televised debates won't solve every problem with Bangladesh's political discourse. They won't eliminate partisanship or guarantee honesty. But they offer something increasingly rare: a structured opportunity for truth-testing, where claims meet challenges and voters can judge for themselves.

Is There Damage Below the Boat's Waterline?

Where does the Awami League stand today, 18 months after the July Uprising, and is there any way back for the party post-February 12?

A Tale of Two Slogans

Why “Bangladesh First” Is Coherent Politics and “We Are the People” Is a Theological Trap for Jamaat. The first is a moral ordering principle which prioritizes responsibility. The second is a sovereignty claim and defines power.

Beyond Fault Lines: Bangladesh's Intolerance Problem

What if Bangladesh's problem isn't the divides themselves? Secular versus religious. Bengali versus Muslim. Shahbag versus Shapla. Aspiration versus stagnation. What if the real problem is our inability to tolerate disagreement at all?

Iran, Israel, and the Illusion of War

This is not peace. And it is not war. It is the controlled demolition of the Sykes-Picot agreement in favour of an integrated Middle East. Iran is reshaping its internal power structure and regional posture. The Middle East is not descending into chaos. It is being reorganized.

Neither Competent nor Prudent 

As with the constitution, good principles can only help if properly applied in practice. In the long run, the verdict of history on the interim government will depend on the ability of its successors

Moderation is the Virtue

In a riverine land such as ours, mainstream might be a more evocative term -- BNP represents the confluence of various cultural, historical, social milieus that continue to flow through us. As Mrs Zia has memorably put it, BNP situates itself to the left of the right, and to the right of the left.

Who Can Afford to be a Politician Today

As the nation approaches another election marked by controversy and uncertainty, the composition of its candidate list serves as both a warning and a mirror. It reveals not only who seeks power, but why they seek it.

A New Iran on the Horizon: Tehran’s Clerical Establishment Has Lost any Legitimacy to Rule

Echoes of the 1979 Islamic Revolution are loud and clear, except this time the ayatollahs are on the receiving end. To save this nation from calamity, it’s time for Khamenei to leave.