Bangladesh Democratization Process

Abstract: Bangladesh became an independent country in 1971 and enforced a democratic governance system in 1991. The country has been witnessing a fairly steady economic and social growth processes during the past two decades. However, the political system in the country has not been seeing the same type of development. During four out of eight years in the time period 2001-08 Bangladesh was considered to be the worlds most corrupt country. The country’s political authority has been accused of illiberalism, crime, corruption, power abuse and neglecting the needs of the public and the country in large. The aim of this paper is to discuss and analyze three severe barriers preventing Bangladesh from becoming a full-fledged democracy, terrorism, corruption and political interference in the justice system. The author of the paper will be using Samuel P. Huntington’s Theory of Modernization to conduct the research. The conclusion made from this study is that Bangladesh has been seeing an economic and social development, indicating that the country is witnessing a modernization process. Although, at the same time a small elite group following traditional norms rather then modernized democratic norms controls the country’s political system, preventing it from endorsing the same modernization process.