Bangladesh lacks branding. Branding is about marketing, shaping perceptions, and keeping a lasting taste in the mind of the receiver. What this country has and can offer is hardly out there in a comprehensive and systematic manner.
The July Revolution, an aspiration of the younger generation, who were forced to conform to the narrative produced and circulated by a particular polity, has put Bangladesh on the map in a positive perspective. A continuation of the drive of school children since 2018, who wanted to see a system that will listen to “people” and embody “justice” in its deliberations, helped us, the rest, with breathing space to speak aloud. Naturally, I would like to see its reflections in the branding of Bangladesh — it has been 54 years and it is due!
How do we brand Bangladesh from a political perspective? Coming from an international relations background, I see the branding of Bangladesh not only from an economic point of view but first and foremost as introducing Bangladesh to the rest of the world using its tangible power.
The political branding of Bangladesh would pave the way for its economic branding. Here, I will emphasize on two fundamental tangible elements — the location of Bangladesh and its size — to illustrate how Bangladesh can be politically branded and presented as a country with strategic significance.
Location, location, location
We overemphasize the size of Bangladesh as a “small” country — and I will come to why this is problematic later — but we ignore even those who like to propose Bangladesh to be so for ignoring the location value of the country.
From being locationally challenged, land-locked (when Bangladesh was yet to resolve its maritime boundary disputes with Myanmar and India), and even as “India-locked” (due to sharing the fifth largest land border in the world with India being surrounded by it on its three sides), Bangladesh certainly is now locationally endowed and blessed.
What changed?
Bangladesh’s legal victory over Myanmar and India in securing its unfettered access to the Bay of Bengal and consequently being a player in the Indo-Pacific region (IOR) has shifted its geographical disadvantage to a geo-political gain.
With the turning of the Bay of Bengal as a legit gateway to the Indo-Pacific for Bangladesh, it not only gained liquid territories and acquired a new identity as a “maritime country,” but it also brought a closer look to what Bangladesh can offer to its neighbours.
More than ever Bangladesh’s location in the middle of India — the India Proper and the Northeast Region (NER) of India — has become significant from a strategic and economic point of view. A friendly Bangladesh is in India’s interest for creating a prosperous NER.
Be that as it may, Bangladesh’s first deep sea port will also add more tales to this story. India’s deep sea port on its eastern side is too far to cater to Nepal and Bhutan’s requirements. Bangladesh can offer a closer and cheaper alternative. This would be Bangladesh’s opportunity to emerge as a regional hub of trade and commerce.
More on the location that often averts our critical scrutiny. We have neglected to learn about Myanmar.
We had Myanmar-blindness in our academic discourse and foreign policy until the latest Rohingya crisis unfolded. It is not an easy task to home, feed, and maintain a semblance of normalcy with 1.2 million Rohingya in Bangladesh.
The situation became more complicated as Myanmar, the sending country, is facing hurdles to keep afloat if we indulge ourselves in a maritime expression. With the rise of several actors fighting against the Tatmadaw to gain control of the country, it is the Arakan Army, which is of immediate interest to Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has established operational contacts with the Arakan Army, hoping for a positive outcome when the time is right. While the immediate concern is to ensure the repatriation of the stranded Rohingya, given the global commitments for the maintenance and support of the population turning challenging for Bangladesh, there is another geo-political concern too.
We missed our opportunity to study and learn about Myanmar in-depth as our gateway to Southeast Asia. Despite Bangladesh opting for an Act East Policy, the policy-makers perhaps paid attention to “big players” instead of learning to make bridges — so to speak — to reach those big players.
Connectivity is not only about making transactions with big powers, but also about making the best use of the land and maritime connections to create sustainable and durable relationships. A former proposal of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Corridor would have served Bangladesh’s purpose of making its connectivity to Southeast Asia and to China via Myanmar, which later also became a part of China’s Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI).
If this is pursued with the right motives once again, and more importantly, if Bangladesh can convince Myanmar and China to have direct connectivity between Bangladesh and Myanmar through the corridor, this will open up a vista of Bangladesh’s real eastward opportunities.
To tease the point further, have we thought of creating more opportunities for accessing the Indian Ocean, apart from limiting ourselves to having zoning areas in the Bay of Bengal? Just as India is investing in the Kaladan Project to ensure its further eastern access to the Indo-Pacific, why are we not also thinking of a friendly Myanmar and ensuring sea access for Bangladesh on Myanmar’s eastern coast?
As the contemporary reality goes, there are two Myanmars that exist for us. We need to chalk out our plans and make the best use of this situation. The work has to start now!
Expanding on the “small” talk
Now let me come to the “smallness” of Bangladesh — which I find deeply troubling. We have to live with the size of the country. Is it only the geographic expanse or what the geographic expanse can hold and offer us that should determine its smallness?
There is a light proposition about the reform of the United Nations Security Council’s permanent membership based on population. Being the eighth largest country in terms of population, Bangladesh would have had a decent chance to make it there.
Kidding aside, we often forget or do not know that Bangladesh provides the second largest online labour in the world. In a recent world demographic projection, Bangladesh would supply the fourth largest labour force in the world by the year 2050.
These are not just numbers but in the face of the graying of the greats, Bangladesh’s manpower, if skillfully prepared and routed to strategically targeted markets, can be yet another tangible asset. Instead of prioritizing the traditional markets to export manpower, it is time to think of diversified options and strategize keeping in mind growing markets and jobs that Bangladeshis can learn and adapt to.
A new shift
The July Revolution of Bangladesh has fundamentally altered the nature of politics for the country — both internally and externally. It sent a strong message to the world that this is not only a changed Bangladesh, but it also intends to reflect so in its dealings with the rest of the world.
The chief adviser has provided an outline of the new Bangladesh, which will carry out its foreign relations based on mutual faith, trust, and respect, as well as reciprocity. Bangladesh is well into exerting itself as a middle power on the global stage, and this is what we need to vigorously project.
Such a political branding of Bangladesh will provide much-needed strategic autonomy where it will be able to devise its foreign policy decisions and choices based on its national interests. We must also keep in mind that such strategic autonomy can be either issue-based or independent foreign policy decisions without being influenced by other parties.
Academics like to dream. We mark changes no matter how small they are, like to tie the loose ends, and identify the patterns to weave the bigger pictures that we call theories. Theories can be put into practice by taking practical actions. But I also have to acknowledge the changes taking place around the world.
The world is gradually entering into a turbulent phase. Age-old and stable relationships among countries are being questioned. At the risk of sounding pessimistic, I am afraid it is the dawn of a new era where countries are increasingly being pushed to fend for themselves. Bangladesh, therefore, has to keep this in mind and start preparing sooner.
There should be an exchange of visits composed of academics, policymakers, and writers to and from Bangladesh who will be speaking and writing about the new Bangladesh. Narratives have to be created, for as I have said before, if we do not step up to create our narratives, someone else with a mightier pen will do so, and probably much to our dislike.
In an age of social media and quick access to information, creative writing, story-telling, and participation in global events will create the first of many steps to the political branding of Bangladesh. Although one might sing along with Bill Clinton, “It’s economy, stupid,” in a changed international environment since his time, “It’s the narrative, and narrative, stupid,” that we need to prioritize.
Lailufar Yasmin is Professor and former Chair at the Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Email: [email protected]
