ISAS Working Papers

On 26 March 2018, Bangladesh turns 47. The country and its people have undergone many vicissitudes of fortune as they have evolved over time. The past and the present point to the possibility of the achievement of this aspiration. In the past, it has used its foreign aid effectively to reduce external dependence. In social indices, it has achieved remarkable success. Internationally, it plays a role perceived as positive as it has been consistently one of the largest contributors to the United Nations peace-keeping operations. The current Awami League government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has proclaimed a vision to turn the nation into a knowledge-based middle-income country by 2021. This paper is a narrative of its experience as a nation-state since its inception in December 1971. It analyses Bangladesh’s potentials and challenges, and seeks to extrapolate from its past, its future ethos as a nation-state.