Bangladesh: Protests, Crackdowns and a Coming Election
When Economic Growth Combines with Growing Authoritarianism
In December protests erupted in cities across Bangladesh, including the capital Dhaka. The proximate cause was skyrocketing inflation triggered in part by Russia’s war in Ukraine. But as my guest Michael Kugelman explains these were not mass protests, but rather highly partisan events ahead of elections scheduled for this year.
Michael Kugelman is director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. We kick off discussing the significance of these protests. We then have a longer conversation about how these protests fits into broader trends in Bangladeshi politics and economy — including Bangladesh’s remarkable economic growth and its increasing authoritarianism under prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The podcast episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast listening app by going here.
If you would like to read the transcript of my interview about recent events in Bangladesh please purchase a subscription. You’ll immediately unlock access to this transcript.
Thank you!
Mark Leon Goldberg
Host, Global Dispatches podcast
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Global Dispatches to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.