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This Pivot explores the mechanism of election manipulation in ostensibly democratic but essentially authoritarian systems called the hybrid regime, using the 2018 parliamentary elections in Bangladesh as an example. The 2018 election has delivered an unprecedented victory to the incumbent Bangladesh Awami League. Elections pose serious dilemmas for the leaders of hybrid regimes. While contested elections bolster their claims of democracy and augment their legitimacy, they can also threaten the status quo. Faced with the challenge, the incumbents tend to hold stage-managed elections. This book offers incisive examination of Bangladesh's political environment, rigorous scrutiny of the roles of state institutions including the law enforcing agencies, and meticulous analysis of election results. It also fills in a gap in the extant hybrid regime literature which seldom explores the strategies of engineered elections.
List of contents
1. Introduction.- 2. What is a Hybrid Regime?.- 3. Bangladesh: From an Electoral Democracy to a Hybrid Regime (1991-2019).- 4. Manufacturing a Climate of Fear.- 5. Does Election Matter in a Hybrid Regime?.- 6. The Mechanism of Manipulation.- 7. The Election Day: Fear, Exclusion and Persecution Come Together.- 8. Election Results: A Victory Too Big to Believe?.- 9. Mutation of a Hybrid regime and Quo Vadis Bangladesh.
