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Politics−Bureaucracy Relationship in Bangladesh: Consequences for the Public Service Commission

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Abstract

The paper attempts to analyze the consequences of political pressure placed on the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Bangladesh. Through extensive literature review and empirical research, the authors conclude that the independence, efficiency and effectiveness of the PSC largely depend on the politics–administration relationship. Furthermore, this relationship is affected by regime types and it regulates the optimum functioning or malfunctioning of the institution.

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Notes

  1. Though members serving at that time completely denied this allegation, the academics who have conducted research on the PSC confirmed that indeed the incidence of question leakage did take place at this period.

  2. Through interview with ex-members of the PSC, it was found that these allegations were indeed true.

  3. During interview, an ex-member recalled that an ex-Chair, for no reason at all, decided to form a single interview board. The members suspected that the reason was to provide good marks in viva-voce to the candidates loyal to the ruling party.

  4. In Dhaka University, the teachers are divided into two panels—the white panel is considered as Pro-BNP and the Blue Panel as Pro-AL. The first PSC Chair during the democratic regime is known as founder of the Pro-BNP wing of the Teacher’s Associations. Parties who came into power later preferred to appoint academics from their own panel.

  5. One interviewee commented, “Well, the autocratic governments do not represent any particular political party. Thereby, it is not necessary for them to sacrifice the efficiency of the civil servant at the price of appointing their party loyalists.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Administration, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Ferdous Jahan

  2. Institute of Governance Studies, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Asif Mohammad Shahan

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  1. Ferdous Jahan
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  2. Asif Mohammad Shahan
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Correspondence to Asif Mohammad Shahan.

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Jahan, F., Shahan, A.M. Politics−Bureaucracy Relationship in Bangladesh: Consequences for the Public Service Commission. Public Organ Rev 8, 307–328 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-008-0061-8

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