Functioning of Government According to Freedom House
Functioning of Government refers to the way government structures ensure the fair and accurate representation of constituent interests in the creation and implementation of policy. Government functionality tests the legislative freedom that governments have- whether the government itself has the ability to create and implement legislature without overwhelming influence from non-state actors, whether the government itself abuses its power by ignoring the people’s interest, and whether the government is composed of fairly elected officials. Such an evaluation of government processes is calculated by analyzing the efforts put in place to prevent corruption, promote transparency, and ensure that fairly elected legislators can freely develop policy (Freedom House, 2018). In other words, functioning of government refers to the different aspects, i.e. practices and actors, that contribute to how the government generates and regulates policy. It is the core of governance within a state.
Functioning of Government as A Necessity
The functioning of government is essential to having a “free” country- it defines the way policy is created and carried out. A government that functions corruptly, such as through interference from non-state, non-legislative actors, would completely undermine the role that the people have in the legislative process. The representation of interests of the citizens are essential to the definition of a free country. Without a government that functions to properly voice the requests of constituents, policy would be skewed by non-state actors and lack the interest of citizens, thus inhibiting the ability to be a truly free country. The people can only have control in their government if the structures of government enable their voices to be the leaders for legislators and procedure.
Functioning of Government in Bangladesh
Although there are many factors that contribute to evaluating the functioning of a government, the articles I studied surrounding leadership in Bangladesh are prime examples of how government functions are preventing their status as a “free” country.
The Guardian’s “Bangladesh’s PM rejects claims of repression: ‘I do politics for the people’” reports that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, is denying claims that she is moving away from democracy and her governing behavior is becoming authoritarian. Such accusations denied included unauthorized killings, arrest of activists, and restrictions on media (mostly from opposing parties). The military has reportedly been bought off by Hasina through increases in salary and budget, and in the process has become one of the biggest businesses in Bangladesh (Tisdall & Ridout, 2015).
Yes, the prime minister is just one person, and one person cannot accurately reflect the government as a whole. However, the prime minister, as the head of government in Bangladesh, arguably has the most power in the implementation of policy. The prime minister’s behavior, as well as considering the newfound embezzlement accusations against her predecessor, indicates an atmosphere of political corruption and inequality in Bangladesh as a whole. If the claims are true, then Hasina is asserting her own power in government through violence and illegal behavior at the expense of the power of the people.
New York Times article “Bangladesh Bank Chief Resigns After Cyber Theft of $81 Million” also sheds light on the possible corruption of a Bengali official. The governor of Bangladesh’s central bank, Atiur Rahman, resigned and three of his staff members were fired after the claims. Two deputy bank governors and the Financial Institutions division secretary were also fired for claims that they kept the theft a secret from officials. The possibility to reclaim money as well as the reason why it took a month for this news to come out is unclear (Gladstone, 2016).
Again, I think that one case cannot define the political atmosphere in Bangladesh, but the more news that comes to light just adds onto this case of corrupt leadership. In addition to the oppression of opposition in politics, there seems to be a trend of the misuse of money within the government- embezzlement, missing money, paying off the military- and this is just from the limited information I’ve gotten from a handful of articles. I do not think that these can all be coincidences or just empty accusations.
On paper, Bangladesh is a “free” country, but it is when the leaders and social norms come into play that I can see the how the country is only “partly free”. The functioning of government in Bangladesh is filled with corruption and lacks transparency.
Works Cited
“Methodology: Freedom in the World 2018.” Methodology: Freedom in the World 2018 | Freedom House. April 19, 2018. Accessed October 19, 2018. https://freedomhouse.org/report/methodology-freedom-world-2018.
Gladstone, Rick. “Bangladesh Bank Chief Resigns After Cyber Theft of $81 Million.” The New York Times. January 19, 2018. Accessed October 19, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/world/asia/bangladesh-bank-chief-resigns-after-cyber-theft-of-81-million.html?rref=collection/timestopic/Bangladesh.
Tisdall, Simon, and Anna Ridout. “Bangladesh’s PM Rejects Claims of Repression: ‘I Do Politics for the People’.” The Guardian. September 21, 2015. Accessed October 19, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/21/bangladesh-prime-minister-rejects-accusations-of-authoritarian-rule.