Strengthening Local Governance in Bangladesh


Book Description

This book explores the impact of Bangladesh's Local Government Act of 2009 on the functioning of the local governments or Union Parishads (UP), with a particular emphasis on people’s participation and accountability. Throughout the chapters, the authors review the existing legal framework of UP and its relation to social accountability, examine how much of the social participation is spontaneous and how much is politically induced, question the success of the Citizen's Charter and Right to Information acts as mechanisms for social accountability, and present suggestions to remedy some of the problems facing people's participation and accountability in the UP. This book fills existing gaps in the discourse by adding new information to the literature on development research and legal reforms in Bangladesh, specifically in how those legal reforms have led to strengthening or weakening people's participation in local government. The target audience for this book are students and researchers in Asian studies , international development studies, and public administration, as well as practitioners working in the local governments discussed.




A History of Bangladesh


Book Description

Bangladesh did not exist as an independent state until 1971. Willem van Schendel's state-of-the-art history navigates the extraordinary twists and turns that created modern Bangladesh through ecological disaster, colonialism, partition, a war of independence and cultural renewal. In this revised and updated edition, Van Schendel offers a fascinating and highly readable account of life in Bangladesh over the last two millennia. Based on the latest academic research and covering the numerous historical developments of the 2010s, he provides an eloquent introduction to a fascinating country and its resilient and inventive people. A perfect survey for travellers, expats, students and scholars alike.







Reforming Urban Governance in Bangladesh


Book Description

This book provides an analysis of the urban government system in Bangladesh, focusing on its upper tier, the City Corporation (CC), and the institutional and legal frameworks within which it operates. Along with a discussion of the scale and magnitude of urbanization, the book presents a comprehensive analysis of the reform agendas of CCs including their functional assignments, local political leadership, local control over administration and service delivery, local fiscal autonomy and local financial management, and local participation and accountability mechanisms. Very few efforts have been taken to analyze the comprehensive reform agenda required to make the CCs effectively discharge their duties and responsibilities in the context of Bangladesh. This book therefore not only fills this gap in the literature, but also provides recommendations on each reform agenda.







Politics, Governance and Development in Bangladesh


Book Description

This book explores the relationship between bureaucrats and elected politicians in Bangladesh and discusses how this impacts governance and development in the country from an empirical perspective. It looks at the interplay of politics and bureaucracy in ancient societies, western democracies and in the developing world while highlighting the uniqueness of the Bangladesh experience and its indigenous contexts of local governance. The author presents a historical overview of the nature of political development, shift of regimes in Bangladesh, and the role of various agents and stakeholders. Through a detailed study, the book provides an analytical and theoretical framework to understanding the linkages between politics and bureaucracy, governance and development in South Asia and Bangladesh, with implications for geopolitics and economic growth. This book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and students of political economy, development studies, public administration, comparative politics as well as to policymakers, bureaucrats, government bodies, and especially those concerned with Bangladesh.




Mixed Methods and Cross Disciplinary Research


Book Description

This book uses mixed methods to extend the concept of “wellbeing stocks” to refer to dynamic ways of working with others. It addresses metaphors and praxis for weaving together strands of experience. The aim of the wellbeing stocks concept is to enable people to re-evaluate economics and to become more aware of the way in which we neglect social and environmental aspects of life. The pursuit of profit at the expense of people and the environment is a central problem for democracy and governance. The vulnerability of cities is a symptom of the lack of balance between individual and collective needs. This book explores the potential for cities, specifically in the regions of Indonesia, Africa, and Australia, to become more productive as sites for food and water security through more creative use of technology. It highlights the need for partners that see food and security feasible at the household level if supports are provided at the community, national and international level. The book examines how these regions are affected by demographics, climate change and people movements, but also explores ways to establish an effective cultural ecosystem management.




Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance


Book Description

This global encyclopedic work serves as a comprehensive collection of global scholarship regarding the vast fields of public administration, public policy, governance, and management. Written and edited by leading international scholars and practitioners, this exhaustive resource covers all areas of the above fields and their numerous subfields of study. In keeping with the multidisciplinary spirit of these fields and subfields, the entries make use of various theoretical, empirical, analytical, practical, and methodological bases of knowledge. Expanded and updated, the second edition includes over a thousand of new entries representing the most current research in public administration, public policy, governance, nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations, and management covering such important sub-areas as: 1. organization theory, behavior, change and development; 2. administrative theory and practice; 3. Bureaucracy; 4. public budgeting and financial management; 5. public economy and public management 6. public personnel administration and labor-management relations; 7. crisis and emergency management; 8. institutional theory and public administration; 9. law and regulations; 10. ethics and accountability; 11. public governance and private governance; 12. Nonprofit management and nongovernmental organizations; 13. Social, health, and environmental policy areas; 14. pandemic and crisis management; 15. administrative and governance reforms; 16. comparative public administration and governance; 17. globalization and international issues; 18. performance management; 19. geographical areas of the world with country-focused entries like Japan, China, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe, North America; and 20. a lot more. Relevant to professionals, experts, scholars, general readers, researchers, policy makers and manger, and students worldwide, this work will serve as the most viable global reference source for those looking for an introduction and advance knowledge to the field.