While the rest of the world is concerned with surges, Greek leftists and naked Air Force staff sergeants, a political crisis has been brewing in Bangladesh.
Why, do you ask, should that matter to anyone? Well, for one thing, Bangladesh is the seventh most populated country in the world and, as such, a political crisis there is no small matter. Also, as Reuters notes, it is 87% Muslim and has had at least a weak democracy. It is also a very poor state.
As such, those interested in general in development and democratization have a reason to care about the case, and especially those who want to see even a weakly institutionalized democracy in a Muslim country. Further, there is the security issue of a very poor country in the midst of crisis and the potential for radical Muslim influences.
Matthew Shugart has been examining the issue, especially as it pertains to pending elections over at Fruits and Votes: see here (about the resignation of the President), here (about the deepening nature of the crisis), and here (about some of the party dynamics).
This is clearly a case that warrants far more attention than it is getting and illustrates the death of serious international news that we receive from the cable news nets.
Here’s a timeline of the crisis from Reuters.
January 12th, 2024 at 12:16 pm
If one relies on the US media (especially cable news channels), one will be quite in the dark on major events in which Americans or American property are not (yet) being attacked.
However, if one has satellite TV, one can follow this and other important international stories, thanks to their carrying foreign news services on BBC and LinkTV.
Speaking of link, thanks for them!
January 12th, 2024 at 2:47 pm
Talking about useful links on Bangladesh don’t forget the bloggers!
Blogs provide light in Bangladesh’s political night
January 13th, 2024 at 9:33 am
The “timeline” link doesn’t work.
January 13th, 2024 at 11:00 am
Simmons,
I just tried it and it worked. Maybe their site was briefly down.