CPD Distinguished Fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya today said reform efforts in Bangladesh have repeatedly failed because they focused on surface-level institutional changes while ignoring the need to organise social and economic forces that could defend democracy.
“Changing the superstructure alone cannot bring a new political settlement. Unless the forces that support democracy are organised and empowered, reforms will always be captured by vested interests and traditional politics,” he said.
Referring to past reform initiatives, Debapriya said political actors had prioritised constitutional changes, governance, and administrative behaviour without addressing deeper socioeconomic power relations at a briefing on policy recommendations and suggested national programmes for the next government.
“We have had caretaker governments before. Those arrangements were also dismantled. So the question is not whether reforms are necessary, but whether there is a social force capable of protecting them,” he said.
He said the promise of a new political settlement ultimately failed because its proponents did not mobilise citizens and stakeholders beyond politicians.
“There was dialogue, but it was largely among political leaders. There was no national awakening, no broad-based participation of stakeholders to carry this idea forward,” he said.
As a result, he said, many of those who claimed to be architects of a new settlement became part of the old one by entering expensive electoral politics.
“They joined the old system, thinking they could change it from within, while vested interests regrouped. Business elites returned, politicians resurfaced, and the bureaucracy came back stronger,” he said.
Debapriya said the bureaucracy has historically been the strongest guardian of the old political settlement and regained influence due to institutional weaknesses.
He also criticised the current interim government, saying it failed to demonstrate the openness, capacity, and stakeholder engagement needed to implement meaningful reforms.
“The interim government spoke of reform, but could not create the conditions required to carry it out. Eventually, it became hostage in many cases to a small and aggressive group,” he said.
This failure, he added, has raised serious questions about whether the interim administration can conduct a neutral and credible election.
“The question now is whether they can even hold a proper election impartially. That concern is real,” he said.
On media freedom, Debapriya said successive governments ignored key recommendations of the media commission, including ensuring financial transparency of media houses.
“If media owners cannot ensure transparency in their own finances, their moral authority to demand accountability from others becomes uncertain,” he said.
He also criticised professional media organisations for failing to play an independent role due to political divisions.
“When media professionals are politically divided, their collective voice loses credibility, and they cannot protect their profession,” he said.
Debapriya stressed the need to ensure fair wages, incentives, and professional
development and a pressure-free working environment for journalists.
“Media workers must be able to publish their work without fear or pressure. Their safety and professional dignity must be ensured,” he said.
However, responding to a question about why media safety receives special attention, Debapriya said media freedom cannot be separated from broader citizen security.
“If citizens are not safe, media workers cannot be safe either. Media freedom exists within the larger framework of democracy and civic rights,” he said.
He also acknowledged the role of citizens, saying civil society had not always taken sufficient risks to defend democratic values.
“We spoke well, but we did not monitor enough. We did not always return to the streets when needed. We too remained within old patterns of behaviour,” he said.
Debapriya said the experience of failed reforms must be used to genuinely change the political settlement in the future.
He said a new brand of politics is required, not just words, but actions that match those words. "That is the lesson we must carry forward.”
