“Spiraling Towards Autocratic Abyss: The Turbulent Journey of Bangladesh”

The UIC Institute for the Humanities’ South Asia Reading Group presents “Spiraling Towards Autocratic Abyss: The Turbulent Journey of Bangladesh.”

The event will be in person and via Zoom. Visit the Institute for the Humanities website to register for the Zoom event.

Bangladesh’s democratic journey began in 1990 at the height of the ‘Third Wave of Democracy’ around the world. But in the past 15 years, the country has quietly transformed into an autocracy. In this presentation, Riaz examines the pathway of the autocratization process in the past decade and analyzes the events related to the election held Jan. 7, 2024. The election, boycotted by the opposition has delivered a predictable victory to incumbent Bangladesh Awami League and Sheikh Hasina. The significance of the election and its impacts for the coming years will be explored in this presentation.

Riaz is a Distinguished Professor of political science at Illinois State University and the president of the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies. His area of interests are South Asian politics, democratization, violent extremism and Bangladeshi politics.