Ali Riaz, UPL discuss 'More Than Meets The Eye: Essays on Bangladeshi Politics'

Yesterday, on July 23, The University Press Limited (UPL) held a launching ceremony for the book More Than Meets the Eye, written by eminent professor of political science, Ali Riaz. The event took place at the UPL headquarters located in Farmgate.

Professor Riaz Ali, in his collection, discusses effects and outcomes of the dramatic changes that have taken place in the politics of Bangladesh in the last few decades. In addition to evaluating democracy, social integration, and the role of state institutions in Bangladesh, the writer has also tried to determine the current political trends as well as trends that may emerge in the future with his keen insight.

Present at the event and in discussion about the book were Saeed Ferdous, Professor at the Department of Anthropology at Jahangirnagar University; editor and writer, Nurul Kabir; Asif M. Shahan, Associate Professor in the Department of Development Studies at University of Dhaka; the writer, Ali Riaz, who is also a distinguished professor in the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University, USA; and the Managing Director of UPL, Mahrukh Mohiuddin.

Mahrukh Mohiuddin, while introducing the book, stated that More Than Meets the Eye first came out during the 2022 Ekushey Boi Mela, however, owing to the relevant thematic essays of the compilation, a discussion about the book during this time was desirable.

"More Than Meets the Eye [...] documents the pathway of the past decades and contextualizes them within the broad trends since the independence of the country 50 years ago". Some of the chapter titles and their subsequent essays include, "An Ideal Vision of Democracy in Bangladesh", "Understanding the Radicalization of the Bangladeshi Society and Politics", and "Religious Radicalization in Bangladesh".

Asked whether his "political settlement" is between the running government and the opposing political party, or civilian and/or military entities, or the businessmen of the nation—Professor Riaz shared, "[in this settlement] there is no political entity. Rather, this is an understanding between the coercive apparatus and bureaucracy, which wasn't there in Bangladesh previously."

More Than Meets the Eye can be bought from the University Press Limited's site or office, priced at BDT 550.00.