‘Mastaans’ and the Market for Social Protection Exploring Mafia Groups in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Atkinson-Sheppard, Sally

doi:10.1007/s11417-017-9246-9

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For the most part, mastan have been referenced as important, but not directly examined; as such, there is a significant gap in the literature relevant to an understanding not only of the lives of the urban poor, but more broadly of the urban political economy and political order. There are a few exceptions to this, insights from which this article intends to build upon (Ahmed, ; Atkinson‐Sheppard, ; Devine, ). This section consolidates existing understandings of mastan, and engages with the phenomenon the term denotes, in light of recent work on violence and political order (North et al., ) and by drawing upon a wider body of literature and sources from South Asia.…”

Section: Violence Specialists In Urban Bangladeshmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mastan are understood to play significant roles in the lives of the urban poor, operating as ‘intermediaries’ or ‘brokers’ to the state and wider society (Atkinson‐Sheppard, , ; Banks, ; Khan, ; Wood, ). Banks (: 369) describes one such role: this ‘interaction exchanges a vote bank that is mobilized by the mastaan in return for improved services or other benefits from elected officials’.…”

Section: Violence Specialists In Urban Bangladeshmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It should also be acknowledged, however, that while in radical decline, some of the gangsters who rose to fame during the 1990s and early 2000s still operate in some diminished form. Labourers at Karwan Bazar and journalists pinpoint Mirpur as one area where this form of violence specialist continues to operate, and there is some evidence to support this (Atkinson‐Sheppard, , ). Given that mastan gangs dominated many but not all areas of Dhaka, the degree to which there has been a transition differs.…”

Section: Party Politics and The Decline Of Gangstersmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Decline of Gangsters and Politicization of Violence in Urban Bangladesh

Jackman

2018

Development and Change

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Contrary to the Weberian ideal of a central state monopolizing the means of violence, political order in many societies requires a balance of interests between diverse 'violence specialists'. In urban Bangladesh, gangsters have been identified as powerful actors, closely linked to politicians and the state. Often called mastan, they are portrayed as mediating access to work and public services, as running extortion networks and providing political muscle. Since the early 2000s Dhaka has seen radical change, largely undocumented to date: these gangsters are in significant decline. Many of the roles associated with these gangs continue, but now under the direct control of lower-level factions associated with the ruling political party -a transition that has brought a greater degree of stability to the urban context. These arguments are developed through ethnographic research from a large marketplace in the centre of Dhaka, examining the rise and fall of an infamous local gangster. In developing this case, it is argued that closer attention should be given to changes in the organization of violence within societies.

show abstract

Section: Violence Specialists In Urban Bangladeshmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Violence Specialists In Urban Bangladeshmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Party Politics and The Decline Of Gangstersmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Decline of Gangsters and Politicization of Violence in Urban Bangladesh

Jackman

2018

Development and Change

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Scholars concerned with the state, political leadership, and student politics in Bangladesh and South Asia have not attributed much significance to political ideologies. The recent focus on "muscular politics" highlights instead the significance of patronage, the pragmatic nature of politics, the role of violence, and access to resources (e.g., Atkinson-Sheppard 2017;Jackman 2018;Jahangir 1979;Ruud 2010;Suykens 2017a). Scholars working on student politics in other areas in South Asia have often assumed that political ideology is of minor relevance, such as in the study of Jat students in Meerut who, according to Craig Jeffrey (2010), "viewed this quest in entirely pragmatic terms" (p. 140).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Performing the Party. National Holiday Events and Politics at a Public University Campus in Bangladesh

Schulz

2019

samaj

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

One morning in July 2017, a group of 30 to 40 students belonging to the SUST (Shahjalal University of Science and Technology) Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the currently ruling party, Awami League (AL), crowded in front of Assistant Professor Minhaz Sobhan's office to confront him regarding his recent Facebook post that had gone viral the night before. 1 The post had been debated intensely among students on the university's Facebook site. With emotions flaring, the number of reposts and comments quickly multiplied, spreading beyond the university circle. Several colleagues had called the professor advising him to avoid the university campus as he might be physically attacked. His office was locked in anticipation. The students started to vandalize the office from outside while shouting slogans against the teacher, calling for the university to take action against him. Chanting the common BCL slogan "jaẏ bāṃla, jaẏ baṅgabandhu" (Victory to Bengal, Victory to Bangabandhu [friend of Bengal i.e., Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]), 2 they tore down Minhaz Sobhan's nameplate and used it to break his office's small window. As a symbolic act they threw the wooden nameplate on the floor and stomped on it. Later that day, the BCL students proudly shared their Facebook posts with pictures of the nameplate amid pieces of broken glass, along with descriptions and pictures of the meeting with the university's vice-chancellor concerning this incident and their demands. 2 Minhaz Sobhan's Facebook post was also heatedly debated among the university's faculty and the issue dominated conversations for a couple of days; even teachers not Performing the Party. National Holiday Events and Politics at a Public Univer...

show abstract

“… Mastaans are mafia‐like groups and individuals who ‘work in alliance with corrupt members of the state’ (Atkinson‐Sheppard, 2017, p. 235).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Listing for change? Exploring the politics of relief lists in Bangladesh after Cyclone Sidr

Aase

2020

Disasters

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ideal notions of efficient aid are challenged continuously by realities on the ground in the wake of major disasters, such as dire needs, limited resources, and opportunism. This paper demonstrates how ‘relief lists’ can be productive entry points for a systematic inquiry into the pervasive politics of disaster assistance. Through an analysis of qualitative data collected during the five years after Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh on 15 November 2007, it examines how relief lists featured in both physical and phantom forms and then developed beyond their transparency‐making aims, becoming elevated sites of struggle for post‐disaster resources. Three list processes, selected to indicate the temporal, material, and spatial dynamics of relief encounters, are assessed in depth. Although recipients of cyclone relief appreciated its value, the paper argues that list politics also stimulated structures of vulnerability, including inequality. Gradually, relief, as governed after Sidr, also served to restore the differential vulnerability of the country's coastal poor.

show abstract

‘Mastaans’ and the Market for Social Protection Exploring Mafia Groups in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Cited by 8 publications

References 10 publications

The Decline of Gangsters and Politicization of Violence in Urban Bangladesh

The Decline of Gangsters and Politicization of Violence in Urban Bangladesh

Performing the Party. National Holiday Events and Politics at a Public University Campus in Bangladesh

Listing for change? Exploring the politics of relief lists in Bangladesh after Cyclone Sidr

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About