International Research Collaboration AY 2024-25

Tokyo International University | Montclair State University | Wilson Center

On August 5, 2024, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country in the face of a nationwide student protest movement that removed the increasingly autocratic Awami League from power. Demands for justice and accountability were a key catalyst for student mobilization in the aftermath of a violent state-led crackdown on student protesters in July 2024. With an interim government under the leadership of Muhammad Yunus guiding the process of political change in Dhaka, demands for justice and accountability remain salient. This project will explore how digital platforms played a role in the student protest movement and as a driver of political change in responding to the following questions:

• How did social media play a role in mobilizing protests both in Bangladesh and among the diaspora abroad?
• What role did political or collective memory play in mobilizing (or countering) the protest movement?
• What role have disinformation campaigns played in either the government’s response to protest movements or in international responses to political change in Bangladesh?
• What are the principal justice demands of student protestors?
• What kinds of justice and accountability mechanisms have been proposed to deal with the legacy of past human rights abuses?
• What are the prospects for transitional justice in Bangladesh?