BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

PREVENTIVE DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH ASIA: PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT IN BANGLADESH, INDIA AND SRI LANKA

Author: Ian Holliday, Ahmed Shafiqul Haque and Taiabur Rahman

DOI Link: https://www.doi.org/10.56888/BIISSj2007v28n1a2

ABSTRACT

In Fear’s Empire, Benjamin Barber holds that the sole alternative to the Bush administration’s policy of “preventive war” is “preventive democracy.” While looking around the contemporary world for potential sources of anarchy, terrorism and violence, the states characterized as the “axis of evil” in the Middle East and on the Korean peninsula appear to be on the lime light. However, there is a possibility that South Asia may prove to be a critical arena where intractable challenges of interdependence will have to be dealt with. It, thus, makes sense to look at the chances of entrenching preventive democracy in South Asia with a focus on the three regional states: Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. In doing so, we focused on the operation of the central institution of democracy in these states: parliament. We conclude with an analysis of the measures that need to be taken both by reformers in our three states, and by supportive external leaders and agencies. We argued that while all three parliaments are currently secure, none of them functions optimally, and all reveal differing degrees of fragility. To ensure their successful functioning in the years ahead, local politicians and global leaders should, therefore, develop strategies for strengthening them. If Barber is right, the future of global politics could depend on the success with which such strategies are conceived and implemented.