Businesspeople Becoming Politicians: A Paradigm Shift and Challenges/Opportunities Ahead

BANGLADESH POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW

ABSTRACT

The political environment is one of the most crucial factors that shapes the direction of businesses at any point in time. Bangladesh has been practicing democracy for more than three decades and has enjoyed a period of relative stability for more than a decade. This emerging economy of South Asia has been witnessing a noticeable development in its business sector, which constitutes several industries across the country. As a parliamentary form of governance has now been in place for a period of time, a number of business leaders, primarily the owners of businesses in Bangladesh, have begun to engage in politics more actively than was the case previously. In Bangladesh, politics was formerly predominantly controlled by veteran politicians coming from the root level of the political parties, but now an evident transformation has occurred. This article aims to identify the influence of business leaders on policymaking. As policies ultimately determine the future of employees, who are also the citizens of Bangladesh, this whole issue clearly requires a close examination. The article employs secondary data in order to analyze the relationship between the business owners’ involvement in politics and the changes that have taken place as a result of this. As business and politics work hand in hand on a global scale, the author explains the potential opportunities and challenges that this paradigm shift will create for Bangladesh.

Keywords: Politics, business, public policy, money politics.

Notes on Contributor

* Sutapa Bhattacharjee, PhD, GPHR, is a Professor at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Email: sutapab@iba-du.edu.