Peace and Justice

12

Bangladesh: Challenges Within and Without

Shahedul Anam Khan

Introduction

Not many would disagree that the ‘twin challenges, institutionalization of a democratic order and at the same time attaining a target rate of economic growth for development,’ (Moudud 1995: xi) pose the most insurmountable impediment to the development efforts of this country of 150 million. The internal challenges for a country, predicated largely on the internal compulsions that stem from socio-political-economic developments, and the strategic or external challenges are influenced by one another, and the responses are determined by their interplay.

The internal dynamics can always be externalized, particularly in South Asia. Its unique features, the commonalities ...