logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2024
55m 48s

Ep70. Peak Disorder in Bangladesh

Evergreen Podcasts & Global Enduring Disorder Ltd
About this episode

‘Peak Disorder’ is Jason’s coinage for: the democratic world’s inability to exert ordering capacity to respond to new challenges except if they are existentially pressing because we are simply too divided, distracted, and overtaxed by existing crises. This phenomenon of ‘peak disorder’ is epitomized over the last two months by events in Bangladesh.  

 

Bangladesh’s embattled prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, fled the country on Aug 5, 2024, after a brutal government crackdown against protests had resulted in hundreds of deaths. The country’s president, the armed forces, and political parties selected a temporary “caretaker” government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. The key opposition party the BNP has accepted the transition. However, some factions in the country are upset with the nature of the caretaker government’s reforms and the slow progress towards elections.  

Bangladesh is a country with strong economic potential and many opportunities for progress, but its transition from corrupt populism/creeping authoritarianism back to democracy needs to be aided by outside economic help and by being insulated from disordering geopolitical rivalries. Bangladesh’s transition is unfolding amidst Peak Disorder. This makes it very fraught. To delve deeper into events in Bangladesh and what they say about ‘Peak Disorder’, Jason is joined by Michael Kugelman the Director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Centre. 

 

To get more background information and perspective about this very complex topic pleasure join our substack: https://natoandtheged.substack.com/ 

 

 

Producer: George McDonagh 

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn 

 

Show Notes Links: 

Michael’s sterling interview with The Daily Star that gets into the geopolitics of the situation: 

https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/geopolitical-insights/news/the-geopolitics-sheikh-hasinas-fall-explained-3676511 

Michael’s bio: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/michael-kugelman  

For a real concise takes on the facts of what has happened in Bangladesh: 

https://theconversation.com/bangladeshs-protests-explained-what-led-to-pms-ouster-and-the-challenges-that-lie-ahead-236190 

A good overview podcast by ABC (Australia) about how we got to where we are now which also interviews Michael Kugelman: 

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/rearvision/bangladesh-politics-and-the-business-of-remembering/104180756 

And for an update on the current state of play in Bangladesh and what might lie ahead: 

https://apnews.com/article/bangladesh-yunus-hasina-khaleda-zia-election-3525d4c39c748a974f67b62efadb23b9 

And for the conceptual take on how Tyrants rise and fall revisit Ep 67 with Marcel Dirsus: https://pod.link/1706818264/episode/bcd89a117331e217c82af1d018e28d9e 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Jun 3
Ep 121. Could Project Russia Destroy the West? with David Troy
From Gaddafi’s Green Book, to Mao’s Little Red Book, to Hitler’s Mein Kampf, ideological autocrats have frequently spelled out in plain sight their perverse world views and long-term plans to confront their adversaries and upend global order. Rather than engaging in deep study of ... Show More
59m 57s
May 27
Ep 120. Could Nationalism Save Germany? With Will Wilkes
With Friedrich Merz officially at the helm, Germany is entering a new era. But with the AfD breathing down his neck – the country is actually more internally Disordered than outsiders may realise. We ask: could the answer be a new – inclusive – brand of nationalism?To find out, J ... Show More
47m 3s
May 20
Ep 119. The Danger of Complete Anarchy with Robert Kaplan
Disorder is a show where we look for historical parallels to better understand our current age of Global Enduring Disorder… It is also a show where once and a while we stumble across novel and yet explanatory parallels like the idea that the problems of Weimar Germany have gone g ... Show More
58m 12s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 17
Muhammad Yunus: We dream of creating a new Bangladesh
Rajini Vaidyanathan, BBC News presenter and correspondent, speaks to Muhammad Yunus, interim leader of Bangladesh.The 84-year-old is perhaps one of the world’s best-known Bangladeshis. Described as the banker to the world’s poor, he gained international recognition as a Nobel pri ... Show More
22m 59s
Aug 2024
Bangladesh Battered
Bangladesh is facing its worst crisis in recent times. The government has broken down, PM Sheikh Hasina has escaped, law and order is in complete disarray as mob violence and vandalism continue to rattle several parts of the country. As talks of an interim government hang in the ... Show More
28m 51s
Jul 4
Oh Keir! Labour’s torrid first year
After a landslide victory and promises for radical renewal, Britain’s Labour government is failing in policy and popularity. Our correspondents explain why. Nearly a year after the despotic prime minister of Bangladesh fled, an interview with its new leader on the country’s compl ... Show More
28m 3s
Jul 4
Oh Keir! Labour’s torrid first year
After a landslide victory and promises for radical renewal, Britain’s Labour government is failing in policy and popularity. Our correspondents explain why. Nearly a year after the despotic prime minister of Bangladesh fled, an interview with its new leader on the country’s compl ... Show More
28m 3s
Aug 2024
Bangladesh Crisis & What It ACTUALLY Means - Geopolitics Special With Sarjan Shah | TRS 433
Check out my Mind Performance app: Level SuperMind Android - https://install.lvl.fit/d7if2ado20in0joy954uoh iOS - https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1623828602?pt=124995957&ct=Ranveer87&mt=8 Join the Level Community Here: https://linktr.ee/levelsupermindcommunity Check out ... Show More
1h 28m
Feb 2025
Why Britain's on Benefits - Fraser Nelson
Fraser Nelson is the former Editor of The Spectator, a Columnist for The Times and Sunday Times and in this interview discusses his Channel 4 Dispatches documentary "Britain's Benefits Scandal". Follow Fraser on X: https://x.com/FraserNelson SPONSOR. Augusta Precious Metals: lear ... Show More
1h 26m
Jun 2024
Making 'Make In India' Come Alive
On Sunday night, India’s new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was sworn into office, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at its helm once more.We have a new group of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allies, a new group of ministers, and a new look in terms of how the Modi ... Show More
40m 27s
Jun 2024
Can South Africa’s national unity government succeed?
This week South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa took office at the head of the country’s first power-sharing government since the immediate post-apartheid period. Many are hoping this will offer the prospect for economic renewal and bring much needed investment back to the cou ... Show More
23m 44s
Sep 2024
Inside out: How to fix the UK’s prison system + Labour embraces unpopularity
Exclusive INCOGNI Deal ➼ go to https://incogni.com/podsavetheuk to get 60% off your annual plan!The government has won a vote in the commons over its controversial winter fuel payments - but Keir Starmer knows he’s not winning over the public. Unpopular decisions are the theme of ... Show More
54m 50s
Feb 2025
08/02/2025
Sonia Sodha of The Observer assesses the latest developments at Westminster.How should the British government respond to Donald Trump? That question was again asked this week after the American President suggested the US could take over Gaza, removing Palestinian residents in ord ... Show More
28m 4s