Bangladesh’s transition is trapped by its own design

The country has a government with a commanding mandate. Yet it cannot easily deliver reform.

For much of the past 15 years, Bangladesh’s politics orbited a single centre of gravity. Under Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League, the country preserved the shell of electoral democracy—regular polls, a sitting parliament, functioning ministries—while power steadily accumulated in the executive. Opposition parties were constrained, dissent managed through legal and administrative pressure, and institutions meant to be independent grew increasingly obedient.