BOOK REVIEW: THE CRISIS OF EXTERNAL DEPENDENCE, THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF FOREIGN AID TO BANGLADESH

This comprehensive book review critically examines the scholarly literature on external dependence and the political economy of foreign aid to Bangladesh during the early 1980s. The review analyzes how different academic works explain the dynamics of aid dependence, its impact on policy autonomy, and its implications for long-term development prospects. The assessment explores theoretical frameworks used to understand aid relationships, including dependency theory, political economy approaches, and institutional analysis. The article examines how various works interpret the relationship between foreign aid and domestic political structures, economic policies, and social development outcomes in Bangladesh. The review also evaluates methodological approaches in the literature and identifies gaps in understanding the complex interplay between external assistance and internal development processes. Furthermore, the analysis considers the policy implications of different scholarly perspectives on reducing aid dependence and promoting self-reliant development.

The political economy of foreign aid represented a crucial area of development studies during the early 1980s, with this review providing a critical examination of scholarship focused on Bangladeshs experience with external assistance. The review begins by situating the study of aid dependence within broader development theory, analyzing how different theoretical traditions—including modernization theory, dependency approaches, and political economy frameworks—explain the relationship between external assistance and development outcomes. The analysis examines how different works conceptualize external dependence, assessing various definitions based on financial flows, policy influence, technological reliance, and psychological dimensions in the specific context of Bangladesh. The review evaluates methodological approaches used in the literature, including quantitative analysis of aid flows, qualitative case studies of aid projects, political economy analysis of donor-recipient relationships, and historical institutional approaches. The article assesses how various works interpret the impact of foreign aid on different dimensions of Bangladeshi society, including economic policy formulation, administrative capacity, political accountability, and social service provision. Based on the comprehensive assessment, the review identifies both significant contributions and persistent gaps in understanding the political economy of foreign aid to Bangladesh and suggests directions for future research that could enhance both theoretical understanding and policy relevance. The analysis contributes to academic discourse by providing a systematic evaluation of how one of the most aid-dependent countries experiences with external assistance was being studied and understood during a period of significant development challenges.