Whether a party is “Center-Left” or “Right-Wing” matters less to the modern voter than whether that party appears capable of breaking the system to improve the average person’s life.
Lobbying fills the gaps left by these weak institutions, providing protection where enforcement is arbitrary and speed where formal systems stall.
We have long ago given up hoping that our government would do anything for us, and would be content if it simply reined in its worst excesses. As the old Bengali adage has it: We don’t want charity. Just please call off your dog.
A trillion-dollar economy requires a financial system that can recognize risk, tolerate risk, and allocate capital with intelligence.
With only a few weeks of stock, Bangladesh ranks among the region’s most vulnerable.
A dual crisis of legitimacy in the opposition and civil society is creating a “twin vacuum” that weakens democratic accountability in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is not short of clever people or workable ideas. What we are short of is institutional willingness to treat a crisis as something other than an inconvenience to be weathered.
International law and global stability are not distant abstractions for Bangladesh but essential pillars of economic resilience and national planning.
The transition from cash to digital is not merely a technological shift; it is an institutional reform. It requires aligning incentives, building trust, and modernizing infrastructure. But the alternative -- continuing cycles of raids, fines, allegations of harassment, and persistent opacity -- offers little hope for sustainable market discipline.
South Africa’s experience shows that legitimacy depends on perceived impartiality and transparency from day one. For a country at the crossroads, that is an invitation worth considering.
Unlike many bilateral relationships in South Asia that are defined by rivalry, the India-Bangladesh relationship began with cooperation and solidarity. That legacy continues to shape perceptions and policy even today.
Irrespective of whether LDC graduation is delayed or not, we must face the music sooner or later. It is time to bite the bullet and focus on productivity. Understanding how firms increase productivity must be at the top of our agenda.
Bangladesh is a small fish in a big pond. Mr. Rahman must show enough courage to defend the country’s sovereignty while recognizing Bangladesh’s limits and acting rationally as a national statesman: That requires him not to design foreign policy based on whatever the prevalent mood is on social media.
Who is the Facebook or Instagram of this era? Which AI platforms are being deployed into children’s bedrooms, classrooms and social lives without full transparency about internal research? Which companies are already measuring how certain prompts, filters or recommendation engines affect adolescent self-image, loneliness, or compulsive use?
