The Anatomy of Revolt

The July Revolution and the Struggle for Democracy in Bangladesh
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-0-19-791170-9
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 344 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 140 mm x 216 mm

In July 2024, a student-led protest against Bangladesh's discriminatory quota system in public sector employment developed into a nationwide movement that brought down an authoritarian government on August 5, 2024. In The Anatomy of Revolt, Islam presents the first comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the July Revolution, contextualizing it within a longer trajectory of political decay marked by sustained repression, shrinking civic space, systematic electoral manipulation, endemic corruption, and widening socioeconomic inequalities. The regime's heavy-handed response--characterized by mass arrests, surveillance, censorship, and lethal force--further radicalized public sentiment, turning reformist demands into a widespread call for regime change. Drawing on a rich body of qualitative and mixed-method data, including firsthand accounts, media reports, and on-the-ground observations, the book traces how decentralized leadership, moral narratives of injustice, and strategic non-cooperation enabled the movement to sustain momentum despite severe repression. In doing so, it offers an engaging account of how people's power can reshape a nation, yielding timely insights into resistance, democracy, and the power of grassroots mobilization in the Global South.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Islam, Md Saidul

Über Autor(innen)

Md Saidul Islam is an Associate Professor and Post-Graduate Coordinator of Sociology at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. With a PhD from York University, Canada, he has previously held visiting positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Nottingham, Malaysia. His research spans political sociology, international development, and environmental sociology. He has authored or edited eight books, including The Jamaat Question in Bangladesh (Routledge, 2023), Islam and Democracy in South Asia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), and Confronting the Blue Revolution (University of Toronto Press, 2014), and contributed to over seventy peer-reviewed papers. In 2015, the Canadian Sociological Association awarded him the Early Investigator Award for his pioneering contributions to Sociology.