Distinguished Professor Ali Riaz from the Department of Politics and Government presented at a conference on Bangladesh at the University of Oslo, Norway. Riaz was the speaker at the special session titled “A Conversation about the state of democracy and election in Bangladesh”; the session was chaired by Arild Engelsen Ruud of the University of Oslo. The two-day conference Changing Bangladesh was organized by the Bangladesh Studies Network on 13-14 June.

Distinguished Professor Ali Riaz

Riaz, in his presentation argued that Bangladeshi politics and governance bears the hallmarks of a ‘hybrid regime’. He said that the country has transformed from an electoral democracy to a hybrid regime since it embarked on democratization process in 1991. He described the 2018 parliamentary election as an “incredible election” considering the results which delivered an unprecedented victory to the incumbent Bangladesh Awami League. He also underscored that leading to and following the election, a climate of fear has permeated the society. He said, the Bangladesh case deserves attention of scholars of democratization as it provides a trajectory of hybrid regimes, an emerging global phenomenon.

The conference was hosted by the Department of Culture studies and Oriental Languages.