This report is the latest edition of the State of Governance series, a flagship publication of the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) and its predecessor, the Institute of Governance Studies (IGS), published since 2006 to synthesize contemporary public discourse on governance in Bangladesh. Titled Rupture, Reform, and Reimagining Democracy: Navigating the Agony of Transition, the 2024–25 edition responds to the July 2024 Uprising, offering the first comprehensive account of the aspirations that drove the movement and how they evolved through the subsequent transition. Building on BIGD’s earlier research, including Pulse Surveys, studies of youth-led political formations, and analysis of gendered backlash, the report traces why the hope generated by the Uprising dissipated so quickly, attributing this to an interim government that failed to consolidate authority, a reform process reduced to elite bargaining, and a fragile, belatedly achieved political consensus. Despite this sobering diagnosis, the report argues that the transition remains open-ended, pointing to the emergence of new political and civil society actors and a still-nascent vision of democratic possibility. It concludes that a liberal democratic space, though chaotic, remains viable, but only if sustained by continued civic vigilance, since democratic norms require active renewal by each generation rather than resting on any natural or inherited authority.
Authors: Hassan, Mirza; Ahsan, Inteemum; Rahman, Sadiur; Tasnim, Sumaiya; Aziz, Syeda Salina; Ananna, Rabeena Sultana; Shahan, Asif; Proma, Aishwarya Sanjukta Roy; Sultan, Maheen; Antara, Iffat Jahan; and Nazneen, Sohela
Type: Report
Publisher: BIGD
Year: 2026
