Bangladesh: Political Trends and Key Players - Observer Research ...

ORF Strategic Trends
sought support and assistance from Soviet Union to help the new
nation come out of the economic hardships caused by the armed
struggle. But the internal and external developments of the '90s led the
party to rethink its economic strategies.
The assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975 not only changed
the political landscape of the country but also the fate of the party's
economic policies. Gen Zia-ur-Rahman and subsequent military-led
governments suspended the socialist economic policies, pursued a
foreign policy which brought the country closer to the Islamic and
capitalist block, and distanced itself from India and Russia. During the
military regimes (1975-90), AL's activities remained restricted.
After democracy was reintroduced in 1991, AL formed the
government for the first time in 1996. The world had become uni-polar
by then and globalisation was beginning to sweep many areas across the
globe. The internal situation in Bangladesh had also changed. People
were now accustomed to the policies pursued by the military regimes
that encouraged privatisation. Sensing these changes, AL moved away
from its old socialist economic policies. So when it formed the
government in the 1996, the party embraced a free-market economic
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policy, liberalisation and privatisation. Prior to the 2008 elections, the
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party reiterated its commitment to a free market economy.
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