Inclusive Governance and Marginalized Communities in South Asia

Description

Inclusive Governance and Marginalized Communities in South Asia: The Case of Bangladesh confronts a South Asian governance paradox: why progressive policies for inclusive local government systematically fail to empower marginalized communities. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Bangladesh's Rajshahi district—where the authors interviewed Dalits, persons with disabilities, and officials, and conducted community discussions—the book reveals the 'institutional tokenism' in participatory mechanisms such as Ward Shavas and Open Budget Meetings. Although mandated by the Local Government (Union Parishad) Act, 2009, these forums often function as staged performances wherein marginalized voices are recorded but not heard, consulted but not influential. The book identifies three intersecting barriers—elite capture, bureaucratic inefficiency, and symbolic violence—that transform inclusionary spaces into sites of exclusion. Moreover, the analysis presents comparisons with India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, highlighting shared patterns of performative inclusion despite diverse institutional architectures. Rejecting technical solutions, Panday and Ahsan argue that meaningful inclusion requires fundamental power redistribution and institutional cultural transformation. The book further introduces a diagnostic framework for adaptive inclusion that emphasizes continuous democratic learning, providing scholars, policymakers, and development practitioners with essential tools to identify and dismantle tokenism in their respective contexts.

Table of contents

1:Introduction
2:Understanding Inclusiveness in Decision-Making: Theoretical Frameworks
3:Inclusiveness of Marginalized Communities in Local Governance: Insights from South Asia
4:Measures of Inclusiveness of Marginalized Communities in Local Governance in Bangladesh
5:Voices in Governance: Representation and Participation of Marginalized Communities in Local Government
6:Beyond Presence: Access, Influence, and Capacity of Marginalized People in Inclusive Governance
7:Examining the Role of Actors in Shaping Inclusiveness of Marginalized People in Local Government
8:Bridging Gaps and Building Inclusion: A Comparative Perspective on Marginalized Communities in Governance
9:Conclusion and Evidence-Based Recommendations