Bangladesh Foreign Policypaedia : Vol 1

This extraordinary collection contains micropaedia on events related to Bangladesh foreign policy and macropaedia on themes like Engendering Foreign Policy; Bangladesh Economy; Critical Reflections; Perspectives from Abroad; and Cultural Diplomacy. There will also be volumes on the Foreign Policy Speeches of Presidents, Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers, and Bangladesh’s International Treaties and Agreements. With 50 years of experience, Bangladesh’s foreign policy has reached a stage for critical assessment and reflections, particularly on the changes that have taken place over the years. However, policies do not unfold in a vacuum; neither do changes occur independently. Instead, compulsions, disciplinary training, social motives, elite perspectives, class compositions, possible choices, and even ingenuity tend to frame policies.An encyclopaedic knowledge can become handy in this respect. After all, encyclopaedias are powerhouses of knowledge and a testimony to Ferdowsi’s couplet in Shāhnāmeh: He who has knowledge possesses power; / Knowledge gives an old heart a new flower.Hopefully, Bangladesh Foreign Policypaedia will help accumulate knowledge and create an intellectual space for all the ‘new flowers’ to bloom! Volume I include events related to Bangladesh foreign policy in six areas, political, economic, socio-cultural, environmental, technology and education, from January 1, 1972, to December 31 1975. The volume would interest investigative minds from home and abroad, particularly researchers, policymakers, academics, journalists, and students.