A new kind of democracy

At the start of the caretaker administration's term in Jan 07, General Moyeen, Chief of the armed services, presented a thesis on governance and the relevance of its forms to the political culture in Bangladesh. The paper was received with the usual howls of derision and suspicion from Bangladeshi liberals at home and abroad. A lot of this had to do with the fact that the person who was putting forward these thoughts was from the armed services.

Here below is my initial reaction to the paper, written on 02 Apr 07. I'd like to write something more detailed when I have a little time.

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In my view, this is a profoundly impressive statement, and one worth reflecting on. Much is said about the signs of wear and tear that the so-called 'third wave of democratization' is showing in Latin America, Africa, the central Asian republics and parts of Asia. The appeal of this statement is that societies must seek out their own forms of democratic franchise based on grounded realities.

To date, Bangladesh and so many other countries in similar situations have attempted to adopt forms of governance from the text book: unicameral or bicameral legislatures (which don't work because opposition parties don't turn up to parliament); attempted separation of powers (which Bangladeshi society with its intricate layers of informal social allegiances and obligations makes a mockery of); and separation of church / mosque and state (which assumes, incorrectly, that Bangladeshis are already predisposed to boxing off their religiosity from other aspects of their identity). On the one hand, assumptions and intentions; on the other, reality and consequences.

To those of us who are still convinced that what Bangladesh needs is a 'modern' and 'western-style' democracy, the last 15 years should give pause for thought. Our future need not be bound to adopting practices that have established themselves based on the particular social, cultural and political experiences in far away places. If there is one way to perpetuate a sense of inferiority it is to be perennially playing catch-up by trying to internalize the imported state. In the sphere of democratic governance, this game of catch-up is what institutionalizes backwardness, thus leaving Bangladesh constantly exposed to 'lacking' this or 'lacking' that. Second hand costumes rarely make you a winner at fancy dress parties. Better, is it not, to couch one's own democratic ambitions based on what we know to be true about our own situation and experiences. To extend a metaphor, this means we must cut our own coat according to the cloth that is available to us and invoke the principle of swadesh to politics.

The interesting thing about this statement is its timing and diplomatic backdrop. From Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to the diplomatic corps accredited to Bangladesh, right now there appears to be general support for the caretaker administration, its military backers, and their ambitions. While I have not followed day-to-day events as closely as some of you, what is clear is that this presents a truly unique window of opportunity to Bangladesh to configure its democratic processes more specifically to Bangladeshi realities. This would be a turnaround for international organizations working in Bangladesh too, who have in the past been accustomed to serving up formulae on how Bangladeshi democracy should work, only for their experts and managers to be reassigned elsewhere while Bangladeshis are left to sort through the detritus.

As the Chief of Army staff has indicated, when Bangladeshis are left to find their own solutions, they can produce world-class outcomes. What we need now is more original ideas, less received wisdom, and the breathing space to work things out.