Revisiting the Local Power Structure in Bangladesh: Economic Gain, Political Pain? DAVID LEWIS and ABUL HOSSAIN DAVID LEWIS and ABUL HOSSAIN
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2 TITLE HERE TITLE HERE 3 Revisiting the Local Power Structure in Bangladesh: Economic Gain, Political Pain? DAVID LEWIS AND ABUL HOSSAIN DAVID LEWIS AND ABUL HOSSAIN David Lewis is professor of social policy and development at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He has carried out research on Bangladesh for many years and his PhD was published by Dhaka University in 1991 as Technologies and Transactions: A Study of the Interaction Between Following up on research conducted by the authors just New Technology and Agrarian Structure in Bangladesh. over a decade ago, this study of the local power structure presents new qualitative data to analyse the changing Abul Hossain was awarded his PhD in Political Sociology from Dhaka formal and informal institutions that govern people’s lives in University in 2004. He is currently an Associate Professor and Chairperson rural and urban Bangladesh. It explores the ways in which of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Green University disadvantaged individuals and groups seek to increase of Bangladesh (GUB). their influence and further their economic and social goals, documents the barriers and challenges that people living in poverty face, and explores the current limits to these local change processes. It finds that while economic opportunities have increased during the past decade, this change has come with a potential political cost. Revisiting the Local Power Structure in Bangladesh: Economic Gain, Political Pain? Revisiting the Local Power Structure in Bangladesh: Economic Gain, Political Pain? DAVID LEWIS AND ABUL HOSSAIN Revisiting the Local Power Structure in Bangladesh: Economic Gain, Political Pain? Authors: David Lewis and Abul Hossain Copyright: Sida Graphic Design: LSE Design Unit Cover: Neil Capps-Jenner Printed by The Shikka Bichitra, 196/3 (2nd floor), Shantibagh, Malibagh, Dhaka-1217. Publication date: 2017 ISBN: 978-1-909890-40-4 Note: The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Embassy of Sweden Bangladesh or Sida. 6 FOREWORD FOREWORD 7 Foreword by the Ambassador of decentralisation processes in support of local participation and inclusion, it also suggests that new approaches to capacity building are needed if decentralisation is to be successfully deepened. ‘Place’ may be becoming less important than before as Bangladesh becomes more urban and peri-urban, This restudy of Understanding the Local Rural Power Structure in Bangladesh was but geographically marginalised areas still lag behind and are vulnerable to commissioned by the Embassy of Sweden with the purpose to identify, poor infrastructure, environmental instability, and remain unevenly covered analyse and describe formal and informal political, social and economic by social services. It also shows the way that earlier dynamic forms of civil drivers of change in comparison with the Power Study conducted in 2004. society at community level have become less active, suggesting the need for strengthening coalitions between local government and non-state actors to The original study stressed the importance of carrying out analyses reduce ‘elite capture’. of formal and informal political, social and economic power structures and power relations as a way of boosting our understanding of the I hope that this restudy of 2017 will become a useful resource in opportunities and challenges encountered by women and men living Bangladesh and that it will inspire the use of power analysis in other in poverty as they try to shape and improve their lives. The 2004 study countries. Although the study’s observations and conclusions are the also revealed the main barriers and challenges that the poor people face, authors’ sole responsibility, the study will help Sweden, in cooperation with indicated areas in which pro-poor change is taking place at local level, Bangladeshi governmental and non-governmental actors, to better design and explored the limitations of these local change processes. development action that reaches the poorest. I am confident that the study’s findings also will be used as a reference for better inclusion of poor people’s Over twelve years have passed since the original study was carried perspectives on development, something that is key to the reduction of out, and many things have changed in Bangladesh to the better for people poverty and inequalities around the world. living in poverty. The reality of interlinked formal and informal power structures and relations at micro-, meso-, and macro- levels in Bangladesh Dhaka, July 2017 are still identified as one of the main challenges for well-functioning local governance. The restudy of 2017 is relevant as it presents an updated analysis on these relations and structures, and how they act as major barriers for social change, gender equality and effective poverty alleviation. The Embassy of Sweden is pleased to share the restudy findings which Johan Frisell will provide well researched but relatively rare comparable insights into Ambassador the political economy of rural Bangladesh. It is also valuable as a research Embassy of Sweden source on comparable anthropological analysis over time of the local power structure in Bangladesh. I am happy to learn that the new study highlights the significant economic progress made by Bangladesh as well the ways economic opportunities have been enhanced through government and civil society action for all groups since the earlier study. While the new study found that the local power structure continues to grow less rigid, women and men continue to face significant barriers to empowerment and participation through the reliance on informal patronage relations and connections rather than on rights- based accountabilities. While the study shows the continuing importance Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................11 1. THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF LOCAL POWER ..........................................23 1.1 Introduction ..................................................................................23 1.2 Background: the wider context .....................................................25 1.3 Greater Faridpur ...........................................................................27 1.4 The urban research site .................................................................27 1.5 The first power structure study .....................................................28 1.6 Key concepts .................................................................................31 1.7 Other ‘follow up’ studies ...............................................................34 2. UPDATING THE POWER STRUCTURE CONTEXT ........................................39 2.1 Administrative institutions .............................................................39 2.2 Political institutions........................................................................45 2.3 Formal civil society ........................................................................47 2.4 Informal civil society .....................................................................48 2.5 Judiciary ........................................................................................50 3. COMMUNITY LEVEL PERSPECTIVES: MAIN FINDINGS FROM THE 2016 DATA ...................................................51 3.1 The peri-urban village ...................................................................51 3.2 The well-connected village ............................................................57 3.3 The remote village ........................................................................68 3.4 The urban study area ....................................................................76 4. DISCUSSION .............................................................................................87 4.1 How the power structure is perceived ...........................................87 4.2 Main actors and relationships .......................................................89 4.3 Governing access to political and economic opportunities ...........90 4.4 Union and Ward level relationships with local formal institutions ..........................................................................91 4.5 Union and Ward relationships with local informal institutions ......................................................................92 4.6 Local power and the wider ‘political game’ ..................................94 4.7 Local resource mobilization for local development .......................96 4.8 Central resource allocation and political interest ..........................97 4.9 Local initiatives for development ...................................................99 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 11 4.10 Poor peoples’ influence on political decision making Executive Summary and improving services ..............................................................100 4.11 Implications of shrinking civil society space .............................101 4.12 Prospects for change for poor people and gender equality .......103 Development policy and practice requires a detailed understanding of the 5. CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................111 ways that power operates at the local level. Drawing on a literature review 5.1 Change and continuity ................................................................111 and new qualitative data, this study takes a bottom-up view of how ordinary