JBS Vol 06. Num 1-2. 2004 - CLASS AND STATE IN BANGLADESH: POLITICAL ECONOMY OF AUTHORITARIAN DEMOCRACY

Bangladesh has a functioning democracy, yet the charges of "authoritarianism" against the government are routinely
made by its opponents. Sometimes the opposition parties exaggerate, but mostly their allegations are not unfounded.
Democratically elected governments once in power often behave in an authoritarian fashion until they are voted out
and become the opposition party. The paper will try to examine the social basis of authoritarian democracy in light
of the class background of the state elites with a special focus on the relationship between state and economy. The
paper maintains that class continues to remain relevant as a sociological category. This paper also argues that class
and especially class factions need to be taken into account in examining democratization and democratic transitions.
Bringing class and class-faction back into the analysis, the paper also evaluates the potential for democratization in
an economically challenged society characterized by a nexus of high external dependence and internal corruption.