Beyond the constitutionally recognised political parties, there exists an invisible yet influential force in society: the “Comfort Party.”
The return of multi-party democracy would be the first step necessary to reset Bangladesh’s embittered political culture.
The internet, once a mere repository of information, has evolved into the most formidable arena for political engagement.
Following autocracy's fall, debates on the constitution, elections, & democracy intensify, echoing Abul Mansur Ahmad's insights.
The July Revolution of 2024 marks Bangladesh's shift toward deliberative democracy.
The Daily Star analysis of 25 political parties
Standing on the isthmus of change, we must avoid any form of myopia.
The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam's appeal to the ‘new generation leaders’
Democracy cannot operate as a simple majority steamroller, as we also saw in the early days of our independence.
The prime minister had made a very profound and significant remark at the beginning of this month on the state of the opposition in the country.
The League of Nations -- the body which pretends to have a mighty, big say in global affairs -- yesterday removed Chapasthan from the world map following a really funny cartoon drawn about it.
Expressing frustration over the poor voters' presence in many places during the upazila polls, Juktafront Chairman Prof AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury yesterday warned that the voters' apathy might put democracy in grave danger.
In recent times, the socio-political scenes in scores of countries around the world have been turning toxic. A creeping polarisation among political forces is taking hold, accompanied by a culture of demonising the adversaries, use of vitriolic and bareknuckle hate rhetoric.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the 20th century's ideological contest seemed over. Capitalism had won and socialism
Bangladesh has advanced four notches on the latest Democracy Index 2018 of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research and analysis division of The Economist Group.
A comment made by Sir Winston Churchill more than seven decades ago beautifully sums up the importance of voters in democracy: “At the bottom of all tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into a little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little bit of paper—no amount of rhetoric or voluminous discussion can possibly diminish the overwhelming importance of that point.”
It is one of the biggest paradoxes of present time — the contradiction of having the most remarkable advancements in technology with the most regressive developments in human civilisation.
Democracy is, by far, the most acclaimed historical form of government. It not only allows representation of all groups, but also permits every adult to exercise complete sovereignty at the polling booth. There might be nuances and variances here or there, particularly in the preceding campaigns and subsequent outcomes, but we have, by and large, managed to live with our differences, converse with adversaries, and bite the bullet so democracy strengthens itself.
When we are told by our leaders that democracy is in firm ground, maybe a dispassionate look at the matter is in order. The best that one can describe the prevailing democracy is by labelling it as a command democracy displaying monocratic tendencies. It would be hard also to disagree with anyone who chooses to define the present system as one run by a single party.
