democracy | The Daily Star
  • little man

    The power of the 'little man' in democracy

    A comment made by Sir Winston Churchill more than seven decades ago beautifully sums up the importance of voters in democracy: “At the bottom of all tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into a little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little bit of paper—no amount of rhetoric or voluminous discussion can possibly diminish the overwhelming importance of that point.”

  • How are we doing — as human beings?

    It is one of the biggest paradoxes of present time — the contradiction of having the most remarkable advancements in technology with the most regressive developments in human civilisation.

  • Mexican polls: The other soul

    Democracy is, by far, the most acclaimed historical form of government. It not only allows representation of all groups, but also permits every adult to exercise complete sovereignty at the polling booth. There might be nuances and variances here or there, particularly in the preceding campaigns and subsequent outcomes, but we have, by and large, managed to live with our differences, converse with adversaries, and bite the bullet so democracy strengthens itself.

  • To win election, seek only people's endorsement

    When we are told by our leaders that democracy is in firm ground, maybe a dispassionate look at the matter is in order. The best that one can describe the prevailing democracy is by labelling it as a command democracy displaying monocratic tendencies. It would be hard also to disagree with anyone who chooses to define the present system as one run by a single party.

  • Forster's third democratic cheer: Mahathir (as a symbol)?

    EM Forster, almost a lone-wolf democracy crusader between the two world wars, confronted as unpalatable a European playground as many African, Asian, and Latin American countries striving to convince others of their democratic claims face today: an uphill battle in which the institutionalised forces against democracy, such as extreme rightists/leftists and militarism, were usually at least as strong as those

  • Iraq holds first nationwide election since IS defeat

    Iraq began voting Saturday in its first parliamentary election since declaring victory over the Islamic State (IS) group, with the country hoping to shore up a fragile peace and rebuild.

  • Malaysians vote in cliffhanger election

    Malaysian politicians from both government and opposition camps complains of "dirty tricks" after voting in a general election begins on Wednesday, as non-stop spam calls to their mobile phones disruptes communications with party organisers.

  • Polls open in Lebanon's first general election in 9yrs

    Polling booths open in Lebanon today for the country's first parliamentary election in nine years, a period marked by stretches of political paralysis and war in neighbouring Syria.

  • Chattogram city BNP president Shahadat Hossain 'picked up'

    Democracy 'in danger'

    The BNP yesterday presented a “grim picture of the country's democracy” before around a dozen foreign diplomats in Dhaka.

  • 'In a democracy, you must learn to tolerate'

    The above quote is a strong and clear manifestation of the Indian Supreme Court's endeavour to protect rights of the media as it recently announced that freedom of speech and expression of the media must be allowed to the fullest and the press may not be hauled up for defamation for “some errors” in its reporting.

  • The democracy vs development debate

    A dichotomy can be defined as the presence of two alternatives that are jointly exhaustive (only these two alternatives, and no more than these two, exist) and mutually exclusive (the existence of each alternative excludes the other).

  • Putting democracy at the heart of our common future

    The theme of the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)—“Towards a Common Future”—was announced recently by British Prime Minister Theresa May on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly Meeting in New York.

  • Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad session

    News Analysis: An inconceivable resolution by JS

    This is inconceivable in modern democracy that the parliament passes a resolution to nullify a supreme court verdict. But our Parliament unanimously did it on Wednesday, setting a unique example.

  • Putting democracy above the bottom line

    Democracy advocates in civil society and government have managed to push back against global corporations, but much of their progress hangs in the balance this month.

  • Cap-Dem-Rel

    Capitalism prioritses policies that promote efficiency in resource allocation, while democracy espouses ideas of equality and fairness.

  • Militancy rises due to govt’s ‘intolerable acts’: Khaleda

    BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia says extremists and militants are raising their heads in the country due to undemocratic and intolerable acts of the government.

  • Illiberal Democracy or Undemocratic Liberalism?

    It is hardly surprising, then, that citizens on both sides of the Atlantic feel that they are no longer masters of their political fate. For all intents and purposes, they now live under a regime that is liberal, yet undemocratic: a system in which their rights are mostly respected but their political preferences are routinely ignored.

  • If our democracy could talk, what would it say?

    When people resist what the government would like to wholesale, impose, or force-feed as “development”, democracy seems quite at ease to quell people's resistances, violate pledges and dismiss the age-old demands of the adivasi communities.

  • UP elections getting incrementally deadly

    Even the chief election commissioner (CEC) has admitted that violence has escalated in the fifth phase of the elections.

  • BNP turns down allegation of ‘plot to topple govt’

    The top leaders of BNP turn down the government’s allegation that the party is conspiring with Israeli intelligence agency Mossad to topple the government.

  • US deputy asst secy Todd to visit Dhaka this week

    The US Department of State’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs William E Todd will lead an interagency delegation on a visit to Bangladesh.

  • Democracy pays heavily for Article 70

    The HC's observations have upheld what Awami League MP, Asaduzzaman Khan, had forecasted over four decades ago. Asaduzzaman, who was a member of the Constitution Drafting Committee in 1972, strongly opposed the inclusion of Article 70 to impose restrictions on MPs.

  • Democracy flourishes where the press works freely

    Today, we celebrate World Press Freedom Day. Established by the United Nations, it offers us an opportunity to celebrate the essential role that press freedom plays in democracy.

  • Who says we're not free?

    Last week, Freedom House, an independent watchdog organisation that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom...

  • New year to bring good days: Khaleda

    This Bangla new year will bring good days for the people of Bangladesh, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia hopes.

  • Dhaka-US renews pledge to fight extremism

    The US say it will remain beside Bangladesh in the ongoing fight against violent extremism and terrorism, which threaten societies that cherish basic human freedom.

  • Shujan slams EC, says UP polls ‘perverted’

    Civil society platform Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) slams the Election Commission and claims the union parishad polls were “perverted”.

  • Women aren’t safe now: Fakhrul

    BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir says that women are not safe in the country now due to frequent violence against them.

  • Will BNP think for a change?

    The BNP holds its national council today with the theme of freeing democracy from captivity, but democratic practice in its own home has remained absent since its birth in 1978.

  • BNP seeks govt cooperation for council

    BNP seeks “all-out cooperation” from the government to make the party’s sixth national council a success.

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