A framework for systematically prioritising state reforms

The Interim Government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus was formed on August 8, 2024, following the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina’s government by a student-led popular uprising. Although interim governments are not new in Bangladesh, the current government is different from the earlier ones in many respects. Over the past 15 years, Hasina’s autocratic rule has led to the gradual erosion of multiparty democracy and the emergence of a de facto one-party system. The people of Bangladesh have high hopes and expectations from the newly formed interim government, driven by the energy and influence of the student and youth movements and their blood and sacrifice.
It is now widely acknowledged that reforms are essential before a national election to ensure a sustainable democracy in Bangladesh. Professor Yunus, the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government, has already indicated that vital reforms should come first, followed by national elections. He has already started discussions with political parties to gather ideas about possible state reforms.
Any reform is a difficult and complex task. It is not merely a technical matter; it represents a fundamental qualitative improvement in the state’s functioning. Reform involves rethinking the very foundations of governance, leading to changes that can transform the way institutions operate. It is about building a state that not only functions better but also embodies the principles of equity and fairness, paving the way for a more resilient and sustainable democracy.
Despite having strong popular support and backing from students, the interim government faces numerous challenges and limitations. As a transitional arrangement, it operates with limited power and within a constrained timeframe. It also confronts the complexities surrounding its legitimacy and the challenge of sustaining the reforms it undertakes. There is considerable debate about whether to adhere strictly to the constitutional path or take an extra-constitutional route, whether to reform the existing constitution or rewrite it entirely, and what the timeframe and roadmap for the election should be. All these factors have profound implications for the nature, scope, and depth of the reforms that the government has to pursue.
The call for reform is vast and multifaceted. Despite its best intentions, the interim government will not be able to address all grievances or implement every desired change within its limited timeframe. Rather than attempting to cover all areas, the government should focus on setting clear priorities.
Although prioritisation is crucial for achieving meaningful reform, it is a challenging task due to competing interests, diverse pressure groups and their varying interests and motivations, and ongoing tensions. Therefore, prioritisation must be based on a framework that clearly defines the objectives, scope, and boundaries of its reforms and provides an objective criteria for systematically assessing and prioritising reform ideas and proposals.
KEY STEPS AND PROTOCOLS IN THE FRAMEWORK: The framework consists of the some key steps: agreeing on the vision, mission and main goals of reforms, identifying fundamental principles and criteria, collecting and collating reform ideas, screening and filtering reform ideas, evaluating and ranking reform proposals, implementing and sequencing the reform proposals, and successful transition to elected government. These steps are presented in Figure 1 and explained below.
Define the Vision, Mission, and Goals of the Reforms Agenda. The first step in prioritising reforms is to establish a broad consensus on the vision, mission, and goals, along with a tentative timeframe and roadmap. This process involves engaging and consulting with key political parties and other stakeholders to agree on core values, objectives, and a minimum set of criteria for developing a shared vision for reform. Although reaching an agreement on specific goals and criteria can be challenging, the current political aspirations and widespread support for reform present a significant opportunity for the interim government. By leveraging this support, the interim government can develop a shared vision and establish guiding principles and criteria for the reform process.
Considering the characteristics of the student movement and the aspirations of the popular uprising, it is clear that the ultimate goal is to build a vibrant democracy that includes all the necessary components to establish a state where all citizens are treated equally. Therefore, a reasonable and agreeable goal is to establish a liberal democratic state where all citizens are equal.
The next step is to identify a few principles and criteria that will serve as a benchmark to assess the reform agenda. In order to achieve the main goal of reforms, certain preconditions must be met, and specific constraints need to be considered. Maintaining law and order and ensuring economic stability are critical for the success of these reforms. Time is a significant constraint for implementing deep reforms, as prolonged duration can diminish the legitimacy of an interim government, as evidenced by various countries’ experiences.

Identify Fundamental Principles and Criteria: Considering the main goal and the conditioning and constraining factors, the following fundamental principles and criteria could be considered.
Establish liberal democracy. The student-led uprising aims to create a democratic state where citizens enjoy equal rights, freedom, and opportunities, and where the government is held accountable to the people. Therefore, reforms that strengthen democratic institutions to serve independently without political affiliation, promote transparency and accountability in governance, and protect individual rights and freedom as well as establish stable democratic system should be prioritised.
Eliminate discrimination and establish human rights. The student-led movement aimed to eliminate discriminatory laws and policies that perpetuated inequality and marginalisation. Therefore, a fundamental goal of reforms should be to repeal such laws and ensure equal treatment for every individual, regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, or gender. Reforms that enhance equality, uphold human dignity, promote social justice, and eliminate discrimination should be prioritised.
Improve social order and human security. The first step in creating an enabling environment for reforms is improving social order and ensuring human security. These are fundamental responsibilities of the state and core functions of any government. A stable law and order situation builds public confidence and trust, thereby creating a conducive environment for reforms. Therefore, improving social order and ensuring human security should be one of the fundamental principles and criteria in assessing any reform agenda. Reforms that enhance law and order should be prioritised, while those that may destabilise the situation should be avoided.
Economic stability. Economic stability is the foundation for stable governments, successful reforms, and smooth transitions. It creates an enabling environment for political, institutional, and social reforms. This stability has a direct impact on people’s lives and livelihoods, as well as the overall business and investment climate. Without a minimum level of economic stability, reforms are unlikely to be successful. To achieve these goals, priority should be given to reforms that address economic hardship, reduce inflation, increase employment, and decrease economic inequality.
Reasonable timeframe. The timeframe is another important criterion for assessing and choosing the reform agenda. As explained earlier, the legitimacy of an interim government diminishes with a longer transition period because a prolonged transition can lead to increased frustration and discouragement among citizens, undermining the trust and credibility of the interim government. Therefore, initiatives that cannot be achieved within the reasonable timeframe should be beyond the scope of the reform agenda.
Steps in prioritization and implementation: The fundamental criteria outlined above are at the centre of the framework and can serve as a guiding principle for prioritisation. The next steps of the framework are presented in Figure 1 and described below.
Collecting and collating ideas. Gathering reform ideas and proposals from all political parties, students, civil society organizations, NGOs, and other key stakeholders in an inclusive and participatory manner is an initial step to ensure a diverse set of ideas reflecting the diverse needs, aspirations, and perspectives.
Screening and filtering ideas. The government can use five key criteria—social order, economic stability, human rights, democracy and time horizon to screen the merit of each reform proposal. If a proposal does not align with these core criteria, it should be considered outside the scope of the current reform agenda.
Evaluating and ranking ideas. After the initial screening, the proposals need to evaluate based on their importance, urgency, and feasibility. Each proposal should then be categorised as a top priority, priority, least priority, or beyond the scope of the current reform agenda. It is essential to consider not only the importance and urgency of the proposals but also their synergistic effects, as the fundamental criteria are interconnected and mutually reinforcing.
Implementing and sequencing the reforms tasks. Selecting the most viable and impactful proposals for implementation is the next important step. This requires careful planning, a clear implementation strategy, and adequate financial and human resources to ensure effective and efficient execution. Given the dependencies and interconnections among various tasks, reform initiatives should be logically sequenced.
Transition to elected government. To ensure a successful transition to the next elected government, the interim government should establish a fair and transparent electoral process, create equal opportunities for all political parties, conduct free and fair elections, and hand over any ongoing or unfinished reform agendas to the incoming administration, ensuring a smooth and stable transfer of power.
END NOTE: In conclusion, this framework offers an objective basis, and can facilitate consensus among stakeholders and reduce political tensions by establishing a transparent and systematic process for prioritising reform agendas. However, it is essential to remain flexible and adapt to new information, changing circumstances, or unexpected challenges by adjusting the sequence of the reform initiatives as appropriate. Strong leadership of the interim government is critically important to guide, coordinate, and facilitate the reform process through successful engagement of the stakeholders throughout the implementation process.
Golam Rasul, PhD, Professor, Department of Economics, International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT), Dhaka, Bangladesh. [email protected]; [email protected]