
The mimicry of the state as a state practice : the regulation of rickshaw licenses in Dhaka (Bangladesh)
- Author
- Bert Suykens (UGent)
- Organization
- Abstract
- Around half a million cycle rickshaws are currently active in Dhaka, Bangladesh. With only 86,000 official licenses available, different types of organizations supply licenses to most rickshaw drivers. These non-official licenses mimic the language of the state. This article argues that while these licenses appear as part of nonstate, hybrid, or twilight institutions, they in fact constitute a state practice. Based on approximately 200 semi-structured interviews at six locations in Dhaka and offering a conceptualization of the Bangladesh state as a party-state, the article shows that the operation of non-official rickshaw licenses and the mimicry entailed is an inherent part of party-state governance, one which is not morally neutral. While most respondents saw the everyday benefits of non-official licenses in the absence of sufficient official ones, the latter remained the most prized and, if made available, respondents agreed that the former would become redundant.
- Keywords
- Rickshaw, language of the state, governance, partystate, Bangladesh
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8569475
- MLA
- Suykens, Bert. “The Mimicry of the State as a State Practice : The Regulation of Rickshaw Licenses in Dhaka (Bangladesh).” CRITICAL ASIAN STUDIES, vol. 50, no. 3, Informa UK Limited, 2018, pp. 422–41, doi:10.1080/14672715.2018.1491319.
- APA
- Suykens, B. (2018). The mimicry of the state as a state practice : the regulation of rickshaw licenses in Dhaka (Bangladesh). CRITICAL ASIAN STUDIES, 50(3), 422–441. https://doi.org/10.1080/14672715.2018.1491319
- Chicago author-date
- Suykens, Bert. 2018. “The Mimicry of the State as a State Practice : The Regulation of Rickshaw Licenses in Dhaka (Bangladesh).” CRITICAL ASIAN STUDIES 50 (3): 422–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/14672715.2018.1491319.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Suykens, Bert. 2018. “The Mimicry of the State as a State Practice : The Regulation of Rickshaw Licenses in Dhaka (Bangladesh).” CRITICAL ASIAN STUDIES 50 (3): 422–441. doi:10.1080/14672715.2018.1491319.
- Vancouver
- 1.Suykens B. The mimicry of the state as a state practice : the regulation of rickshaw licenses in Dhaka (Bangladesh). CRITICAL ASIAN STUDIES. 2018;50(3):422–41.
- IEEE
- [1]B. Suykens, “The mimicry of the state as a state practice : the regulation of rickshaw licenses in Dhaka (Bangladesh),” CRITICAL ASIAN STUDIES, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 422–441, 2018.
@article{8569475, abstract = {{Around half a million cycle rickshaws are currently active in Dhaka, Bangladesh. With only 86,000 official licenses available, different types of organizations supply licenses to most rickshaw drivers. These non-official licenses mimic the language of the state. This article argues that while these licenses appear as part of nonstate, hybrid, or twilight institutions, they in fact constitute a state practice. Based on approximately 200 semi-structured interviews at six locations in Dhaka and offering a conceptualization of the Bangladesh state as a party-state, the article shows that the operation of non-official rickshaw licenses and the mimicry entailed is an inherent part of party-state governance, one which is not morally neutral. While most respondents saw the everyday benefits of non-official licenses in the absence of sufficient official ones, the latter remained the most prized and, if made available, respondents agreed that the former would become redundant.}}, author = {{Suykens, Bert}}, issn = {{1467-2715}}, journal = {{CRITICAL ASIAN STUDIES}}, keywords = {{Rickshaw,language of the state,governance,partystate,Bangladesh}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{3}}, pages = {{422--441}}, publisher = {{Informa UK Limited}}, title = {{The mimicry of the state as a state practice : the regulation of rickshaw licenses in Dhaka (Bangladesh)}}, url = {{http://doi.org/10.1080/14672715.2018.1491319}}, volume = {{50}}, year = {{2018}}, }
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