Bangladesh
Politics, Economy and Civil Society

The remarkable story of Bangladesh, which is becoming of increasing interest to the international community.

David Lewis (Author)

9780521713771, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 7 December 2011

248 pages, 3 maps
22.9 x 15.3 x 1.3 cm, 0.34 kg

'This is a well-researched book that will be of use to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as to researchers whose work involves South Asia in general or Bangladesh in particular. The book is well organised and clearly argued. It is divided into consumable segments for those interested in a specific topic, though the author has also stitched a coherent and persuasive narrative from these parts … This book addresses the need for a political economy informed analysis of Bangladesh. It delivers a strong basis for anyone interested in this overused character, providing readers with a clear path to what would otherwise take years of reading, research and analysis.' Brian Robert Cook, Area

Since its hard-won independence from Pakistan, Bangladesh has been ravaged by economic and environmental disasters. Only recently has the country begun to emerge as a fragile, but functioning, parliamentary democracy. The story of Bangladesh, told through the pages of this concise and readable book, is a truly remarkable one. By delving into its past, and through an analysis of the economic, political and social changes that have taken place over the last twenty years, the book explains how Bangladesh is becoming of increasing interest to the international community as a portal into some of the key issues of our age. In this way the book offers an important corrective to the view of Bangladesh as a failed state.

1. Introduction
2. A state in the making
3. Towards Bangladesh: British and Pakistani rule
4. State, politics and institutions
5. Non-governmental actors and civil society
6. Economic development and transformation
7. Population, natural resources and environment
8. Conclusion: Bangladesh faces the future.

Subject Areas: Development economics & emerging economies [KCM], Economic growth [KCG], Social & political philosophy [HPS]