In August 2024, all eyes turned to Bangladesh as a group of students came together to oust Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had been ruling the country for more than 15 years. As the news coverage turns elsewhere, and the student protesters disbanded for now, it is important to understand why Bangladesh, and what occurs there, is important for America.
An Overview of the Protest Movement
In June 2024, students in Bangladesh came together to lead a protest movement against what they perceived as an increasingly autocratic political environment that had created an economic situation that indulged elites and widened inequalities in the country. Student protestors successfully forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had been in power since 2009, and her Awami League-led government, to step down and be replaced by an interim government led by Bangladeshi Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus. Yunus called this moment in Bangladeshi history “a second independence” as students, the military, and traditional political forces have come together to rebuild a collapsed system.
What began as an “anti-quota” protest on the reinstation quotas for veterans and relatives of veterans of the 1971 Bangladeshi War of Independence for civil service jobs, the most well-paid and stable jobs in the country, quickly developed into a full-scale protest against Hasina and her Awami League government, which had violently cracked down in response to the protests. The United Nations reported that Bangladeshi security forces used excessive force and extrajudicial killings to quash the movement. The UN estimated that almost 650 people were killed during the period of unrest, while others were unlawfully arrested and tortured.
As uncertainty continues to plague the country, the fate of the more than 1 million Rohingya Muslims who fled Myanmar and sought refuge in Bangladesh also remains in flux. The significant influx of Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh, especially since the Burmese military junta’s renewed attacks on the population in 2017, has caused significant strain on Bangladesh’s resources and heightened political tensions. Yunus had pledged to make the care of the Rohingya people in Bangladesh a priority for his interim government.
Despite facing an uphill battle, the overwhelming feeling in Bangladesh is optimism, as the student protestors work with traditional levers of power to oversee the restoration of order, mediation of political factions, and elimination of the prolific corruption in government institutions.
The Bangladeshi Diaspora in America
While the Bangladeshi diaspora in America is relatively small compared to other Asian diasporas in the nation, it is a powerful group with a growing presence in sectors from business to culture.
As of 2024, there are more than 208,000 Bangladeshis living in America, with the largest populations concentrated in New York and Washington, DC. An area in Brooklyn, NY has even been dubbed “Little Bangladesh”.
Bangladeshi Americans are increasingly involved in politics, especially with the development of a group called “Bangladeshi Americans for Political Progress” that works to protect and advance the rights of Bangladeshi Americans through community organizing, legislation advocacy, and electing candidates.
In addition, New York City Council welcomed its first Bangladeshi American Council Member, Shahana Hanif, in 2021. Hanif is also the first woman to represent her district and aims to improve the quality of life of Bangladeshi Americans she represents. In the City Council, she sponsored a resolution making February 21st, the national holiday in Bangladesh that commemorates those who fought against Pakistan for the Bengali language, a Mother Language Day for Bengali in New York.
The US-Bangladesh Relationship
Since relations with Bangladesh were established in 1972, the US has taken a values-based approach to its relationship with Bangladesh – stressing the importance of maintaining democracy and human rights. After Sheikh Hasina’s re-election in January 2024, the US strongly criticized the election as “not free or fair” and expressed concerns about the increasingly authoritarian environment in Bangladesh.
The US-Bangladesh relationship is mainly defined by trade between the two partners. Bangladesh is the second-largest maker of ready-made goods and the US is also the largest importer of Bangladeshi goods, importing $8.3 billion worth of goods in 2021. Many well-known US companies such as Walmart, GAP, and Target import their ready-made goods from Bangladeshi manufacturers. Bangladesh’s role in the goods manufacturing makes them an integral part of the global supply chain, and thus, any instability in Bangladesh’s manufacturing sector impacts American companies and consumers. Similarly, as consumer spending and demand in the US fluctuates in response to the domestic economic situation, Bangladesh’s export growth, which is based on its manufacturing, will be impacted.
However, the economic relationship is not limited to Bangladesh’s manufacturing industry, with US companies being the largest foreign investors in Bangladesh, mostly in the natural gas and power sectors, accounting for 20% of Bangladesh’s total foreign direct investment in 2021. Since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, the US-Bangladesh economic relationship has developed significantly, even seeing the establishment of a US-Bangladesh Business Council, aimed at facilitating business between the two partners.
As a key part of their Indo-Pacific strategy, the US is also interested in Bangladesh's relationship with the People's Republic of China (PRC). Bangladesh’s border on the Bay of Bengal has been a particular focus of the PRC’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), through which the PRC has been able to access the Indian Ocean and place pressure on the US and its regional partners like India. Since 2012, the PRC has been Bangladesh’s largest trading partner and funded projects from roads and power plants to naval bases. Bangladesh provides the PRC with both strategic and economic benefits, even asking the PRC in May 2024 to provide a “no-strings attached” $5 billion loan to ease the country’s economic woes. The warming relationship between Bangladesh and the PRC should concern the US due to its potential to increase regional instability and trap Bangladesh in a vicious cycle of PRC-owned debt. As Bangladesh enters this period of political transition and seeks to balance the US, India, and the PRC, the US should seek ways to support the nation and demonstrate themselves as a reliable strategic partner.
As Bangladesh navigates these uncertain times, its importance as a strategic and economic partner to the US must not be undervalued. Bangladesh’s crucial role in the global supply chain as a top producer of manufactured, ready-made goods is of significance to the US’s domestic markets. In addition, a successful transition in Bangladesh to a stable and independent democracy is also of benefit to the US as they try to minimize PRC influence in the country and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Uma Baron is Summer 2024 Young Professional at the East West Center in Washington. Uma is a recent graduate from the University of Edinburgh where she earned an MA Hons in Chinese Studies. Uma previously served as an intern at the Global Taiwan Institute.