The Impact of Foreign Aid and Governance Agenda on Bangladesh

Contents: Preface. 1. The role of donors in 'Poverty Reduction' through, 'Good Governance' and responses of Bangladesh. 2. Good governance in the public sector: a critique to the 'New Approach' of development aid in Bangladesh. 3. Civil society and 'Good Governance' in Bangladesh. 4. Rethinking good governance agenda in the context of politics and political culture of Bangladesh. 5. Conclusion. Bibliography.

"Many of the recent ideas and concepts of 'good governance' and 'civil society' in Bangladesh have been generated by the international aid agencies and their 'good governance' policy agenda through foreign aid in the 1990s. But there are also local meanings to the terms derived from the independence struggle and the construction of a Bangladeshi state. The paper aims to obtain a clearer analytical understanding of the processes and institutions of civil society in Bangladesh that can develop workable strategy to improve governance for helping the poor through poverty reduction and moving beyond the patron-client relationships on which they have historically depended. It also focuses attention and debate on those aspects of indigenous governance in Bangladesh which can enhance the quality of governance and democracy by overcoming the Western top-down approach; and can strengthen the role of civil society organizations to further enhance their impact on better governance for fair distribution of public goods and ensuring social justice for the poor."