Joe Devine – författare

Since its Independence in 1971, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in terms of reducing poverty levels, achieving high levels of economic growth over a sustained period of time, and meeting its Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets set by the United Nations. With some justification, Bangladesh is considered an international development success story, and the country appears to be well on track to meet its policy target of becoming a middle-income country by 2021, the same year the country will celebrate 50 years of Independence.

This book explores the central issue of Bangladeshi politics: the weakness of governance. The coexistence of a poor governance track record and a relatively strong socioeconomic performance makes Bangladesh an intriguing case which throws up exciting and relevant conceptual and policy challenges. Structured in four sections - Political Settlement, Elites and Deep Structures; Democracy, Citizenship and Values; Civil Society, Local Context and Political Change; Informality and Accountability – the book identifies and engages with these challenges. Chapters by experts in the field share a number of conceptual and epistemological principles and offer a combination of theoretical and empirical insights, and cover a good range of contemporary issues and debate.

Employing a structurally determinist perspective, this book explains politics and society in Bangladesh from a novel perspective. Academics in the field of governance and politics in developing countries, with a focus on South Asia and Bangladesh will welcome its publication.

Since its Independence in 1971, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in terms of reducing poverty levels, achieving high levels of economic growth over a sustained period of time, and meeting its Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets set by the United Nations. With some justification, Bangladesh is considered an international development success story, and the country appears to be well on track to meet its policy target of becoming a middle-income country by 2021, the same year the country will celebrate 50 years of Independence.

This book explores the central issue of Bangladeshi politics: the weakness of governance. The coexistence of a poor governance track record and a relatively strong socioeconomic performance makes Bangladesh an intriguing case which throws up exciting and relevant conceptual and policy challenges. Structured in four sections - Political Settlement, Elites and Deep Structures; Democracy, Citizenship and Values; Civil Society, Local Context and Political Change; Informality and Accountability – the book identifies and engages with these challenges. Chapters by experts in the field share a number of conceptual and epistemological principles and offer a combination of theoretical and empirical insights, and cover a good range of contemporary issues and debate.

Employing a structurally determinist perspective, this book explains politics and society in Bangladesh from a novel perspective. Academics in the field of governance and politics in developing countries, with a focus on South Asia and Bangladesh will welcome its publication.

Over the past two decades, Bangladesh has enjoyed impressive economic growth rates and is now poised to become an upper Middle Income Country. Over the same period, the country has made considerable progress in reducing official poverty levels and in meeting its MDG targets. Despite this success, Bangladesh still has a sizeable proportion of its population living in poverty or extreme poverty; and it continues to see levels of inequality steadily rising. Furthermore Bangladesh remains one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, with millions living in low-lying areas at risk from catastrophic flooding. This book is unique in that it focuses on extreme poverty. It brings together contributions from both academics and policy makers to address fundamental questions such as what difference does it make if we talk of extreme poverty as opposed to other more moderate forms of poverty? Should we define and characterize extreme poverty in terms of per capita income, social exclusion, welfare entitlements, intergenerational transfers, employment opportunities, gender and within household dynamics, spatial variations and mobility? How does a focus on extreme poverty challenge policy making and decisions? Bangladesh is on the brink of making real and sustainable in-roads on extreme poverty. To achieve this, it will need a new growth path that is more inclusive and redistributive, and will have to introduce innovative policies that are nuanced, blended and sustained. The book draws on empirical data and evidence to identify key priorities that can inform policy able to engage with extreme poverty. This book is essential reading for policy makers, civil society and donor staff, researchers and students from Bangladesh and beyond who are interested in understanding extreme poverty and how it can be eliminated.