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This book explores the institutionalization process with regard to the Parliament in Bangladesh, and seeks to identify the main constrains that hinder the Parliament from serving as the uppermost representative body for all segments of society.
This book sheds valuable new light on key reform initiatives carried out by donor communities in collaboration with the Bangladesh Parliament between the years 1991 and 2015 by presenting an extensive selection of donor proposals to make the Parliament a more potent political institution. The book also focused on the barriers of strengthening oversight, fiscal oversight in particular, resourcing parliament and its secretariat, hindering gender equality and gender responsiveness, counteracting forces that are weakening rule of law, civil liberty of the citizens, constitutionalism and democratic consolidation in the country.
The book presents a comparative picture of the pre- and post-reform Bangladesh Parliament, highlighting on the issue of how much the donor assistance can help promote institutionalization of the parliament and democratic consolidation of a developing country. The book will be of immense value to all scholars interested in democratic governance, administrative reforms, policy studies and the role of parliament as a watchdog ensuring accountability, transparency and national integrity.
List of contents
Introduction.- Chapter 1 Political Landscape and Parliamentary Development : A Glimpse.- Chapter 2 Parliament in Parliamentary Democracy: Theoretical-Institutional Framework (Understanding Westminster Parliament System).- Chapter 3 Reorganization of Parliament Secretariat Barriers to the Capacity Development.- Chapter 4 Making Parliamentary Standing Committees Effective: Minimizing Organizational Constrains.- Chapter 5 Parliamentary Oversight: A conceptual Framework.- Chapter 6 Comparative Budget Process in Westminster Parliaments: A Lesson for Effective Fiscal Oversight.- Chapter 7 Human Resource Management and Development in Parliament Secretariat: An Overlooked Agenda.- Chapter 8 Gender Mainstreaming in Parliament.- Chapter 9 Paradox of Reforms: Present State of Parliament and Democracy.- Chapter 10 Concluding Observations and Recommendations.- Annexure 1 All Constitutional Amendments.-Annexure 2 Parliament's Organogram.
About the author
A.T.M. Obaidullah is a professor of Public Administration at the University of Rajshahi, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is the founder chairperson of the same department. He helds the membership of several research institutes of the said university like: Institute of Bangladesh Studies, Institute of Biological Science, member of the of university syndicate. In addition, he holds associate membership of Deployable UN Development Experts (DUNDEX) and happened to be a member of the national executive committee of the Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (FEMA). He has published a few books on Bangladesh public administration and co-edited a book on parliamentary committee system and fifty articles in the professional journals in the area of democratic governance and civil service reforms. In addition to teaching and research, A.T.M. Obaidullah has been engaged in consultancy services at home and abroad.
Summary
This book explores the institutionalization process with regard to the Parliament in Bangladesh, and seeks to identify the main constrains that hinder the Parliament from serving as the uppermost representative body for all segments of society.
This book sheds valuable new light on key reform initiatives carried out by donor communities in collaboration with the Bangladesh Parliament between the years 1991 and 2015 by presenting an extensive selection of donor proposals to make the Parliament a more potent political institution. The book also focused on the barriers of strengthening oversight, fiscal oversight in particular, resourcing parliament and its secretariat, hindering gender equality and gender responsiveness, counteracting forces that are weakening rule of law, civil liberty of the citizens, constitutionalism and democratic consolidation in the country.
The book presents a comparative picture of the pre- and post-reform Bangladesh Parliament, highlighting on the issue of how much the donor assistance can help promote institutionalization of the parliament and democratic consolidation of a developing country. The book will be of immense value to all scholars interested in democratic governance, administrative reforms, policy studies and the role of parliament as a watchdog ensuring accountability, transparency and national integrity.
Additional text
“The main strength of the book lies in its detailed discussion on the historical–institutional roots of the working of Bangladesh’s parliamentary democracy. … This thought-provoking study offers invaluable insights and suggestions for policymakers. It is an essential reading for scholars of legislative studies and Bangladesh politics. The comparisons of the functioning of the Bangladeshi Parliament with other Westminster systems provide further insights to policymakers, scholars and students.” (Saleh Shahriar, South Asia Research, Vol. 39 (3), 2019)
Report
"The main strength of the book lies in its detailed discussion on the historical-institutional roots of the working of Bangladesh's parliamentary democracy. ... This thought-provoking study offers invaluable insights and suggestions for policymakers. It is an essential reading for scholars of legislative studies and Bangladesh politics. The comparisons of the functioning of the Bangladeshi Parliament with other Westminster systems provide further insights to policymakers, scholars and students." (Saleh Shahriar, South Asia Research, Vol. 39 (3), 2019)
