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Violent Intermediaries and Political Order in Bangladesh

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  • David Jackman

    (School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS))

Abstract

The need for intermediaries to access resources, seek opportunities and mitigate risks has been observed in societies across the world. In poor people’s lives such actors are often violent, however why this is the case remains under examined. This article offers a response to this question from Bangladesh based on an understanding of political order. When violence is not consolidated by a central state, political order stems from balancing the interests of diverse violence specialists dispersed throughout society. In such contexts mediating access to resources can be a means by which these actors accrue power and wealth, helping explain the link between intermediation and violence. This argument is developed through an ethnographic case of labourers in a large bazar at the centre of Dhaka city. The case illuminates the dynamics of political factionalism and violent mobilization within a fractious period in Bangladesh’s recent history.

Suggested Citation

  • David Jackman, 2019. "Violent Intermediaries and Political Order in Bangladesh," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(4), pages 705-723, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:eurjdr:v:31:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1057_s41287-018-0178-8
    DOI: 10.1057/s41287-018-0178-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. North,Douglass C. & Wallis,John Joseph & Webb,Steven B. & Weingast,Barry R. (ed.), 2013. "In the Shadow of Violence," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107014213, September.
    4. Kirsten Hackenbroch & Shahadat Hossain, 2012. "“The organised encroachment of the powerful”—Everyday practices of public space and water supply in Dhaka, Bangladesh," Planning Theory & Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 397-420.
    5. North,Douglass C. & Wallis,John Joseph & Weingast,Barry R., 2013. "Violence and Social Orders," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107646995.
    6. Scott, James C., 1972. "Patron-Client Politics and Political Change in Southeast Asia," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 66(1), pages 91-113, March.
    7. Bert Suykens, 2015. "The Land that Disappeared: Forceful Occupation, Disputes and the Negotiation of Landlord Power in a Bangladeshi Bastee," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 46(3), pages 486-507, May.
    8. North,Douglass C. & Wallis,John Joseph & Webb,Steven B. & Weingast,Barry R. (ed.), 2013. "In the Shadow of Violence," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107684911, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nicholas Pope, 2023. "Militias going rogue: Social dilemmas and coercive brokerage in Rio de Janeiro's urban frontier," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(3), pages 478-490, April.

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