Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Bangladesh: Protests, Crackdowns and a Coming Election

01.09.2023 - By Global DispatchesPlay

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

In December protests erupted in cities across Bangladesh, including the capital Dhaka. The proximate cause was skyrocketing inflation triggered in part by Russia's war in Ukraine. But as my guest Michael Kugelman explains these were not mass protests, but rather highly partisan events ahead of elections scheduled for this year.  Michael Kugelman is director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington DC.  We kick off discussing the significance of these protests. We then have a longer conversation about how these protests fits into broader trends in Bangladeshi politics and economy -- including Bangladesh's remarkable economic growth and its increasing authoritarianism under prime minister Sheikh Hasina. 

More episodes from Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters