From the early 1970s down to the present, I have been an intermittent visitor to Bangladesh, working variously on agricultural credit, irrigation, decentralization, rural development, local public finance, flood control, public administration reform, civil society, and democratization support strategy. The essays offered below are ones that I have been able to render into a format capable of being placed on this website (others have proven so far too difficult).
This page includes only academic writing. Recent applied development writing on Bangladesh can be found on other pages of this website.
“The Bangladesh Paradox”, Journal of Democracy,” 20, 4 (2020), 138-150.
“Party dysfunction and homeostasis in Bangladesh: The old disorder restored (or not),” in Ipshita Basu, Joe Devine, and Geof Wood, eds., Politics and Governance in Bangladesh: Uncertain Landscapes (London: Routledge, 2018), 17-38.
“Civil society advocacy in Bangladesh and the Philippines: A comparative exploration with the Tsukuba surveys,” in Fahimul Quadir and Yukata Tsujinaka, eds., Civil Society in Asia: In Search of Democracy and Development in Bangladesh (Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2015), 143-177.
Short article on “Bangladesh” for The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World, 3rd edition, Joel Krieger, ed., (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 81-83 (earlier articles on Bangladesh for previous editions in 1991 and 2001).
“Social violence and democratization in South Asia: The general case and Bangladesh as a case study,” paper for workshop to honor Paul Brass and his work, Seattle, 4 September 2011.
“Party overinstitutionalization, contestation and democratic degradation in Bangladesh,” in Paul R. Brass, ed., Handbook of South Asian Politics: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal (London: Routledge, 2010), 98-117.
“Success and failure in rural development: A comparison of Maharashtra, Bihar and Bangladesh,” in William R. Pinch, ed., Speaking of Peasants: Essays on Indian History and Politics in Honor of Walter Hauser (New Delhi: Manohar, 2008), 421-452.
“Civil Society and Pro-poor Initiatives at the Local Level in Bangladesh: Finding a Workable Strategy,” World Development 33, 6 (June 2005), 921-936.
“Democracy and Governance Strategic Assessment of Bangladesh” co-authored with Robert Charlick, Rezaul Haque, Mansoor Hasaan and Nazmul Kalimullah, report forUSAID/Bangladesh, September 2004 (75 pp).
“Politics, Civil Society and Governance in Bangladesh,” in Rounaq Jahan, ed., Bangladesh: Promise and Performance (London: Zed Books; and Dhaka: University Press Limited, 2000), 181-217.
“Coping with Too Much Water: Popular Interest in Flood Response Measures in Bangladesh,” paper for the Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies, Washington, DC, 2-5 April 1992.
“Local Government and Rural Development in the Bengal Sundarbans: An Inquiry in Managing Common Property Resources,” Agriculture and Human Values 7, 2 (Spring 1990), 40-51.
“Participation, Public Policy, Political Economy and Development in Bangladesh, 1958-1985,” World Development 13, 12 (December 1985), 1231-1247.
“Rural Development, Class Structure and Bureaucracy in Bangladesh,” World Development 6, 1 (January 1978), 65-82.
“Sheikh Mujib and Déjà Vu in East Bengal: The Tragedies of March 25,” Economic and Political Weekly 6, 52 (December 25, 1971), 2555-2562.
“The Green Revolution and ‘Economic Man’: Some Lessons for Community Development in South Asia?” Pacific Affairs 44, 3 (Fall 1971), 353-367.