“Fascism” has become the buzzword of the moment, especially as Donald Trump is often presented as a representation of this phenomenon in the run-up to the US presidential election. Closer home, the 16-year tenure of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also deserves the same label.

In fact, it seems like no political speech or social media post is complete these days without the mention of “fascism,” at least a few times.

Most recently, in an interview with the Financial Times, senior advisor Dr Muhammad Yunus accused the Bangladesh Awami League of exhibiting “all the hallmarks of fascism”, saying it has “no place” for the moment in the politics of the country.

Later, Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy also hit back at Dr Yunus, posting on his Facebook page: “Unelected, unconstitutional Yunus looks more like a fascist than anyone else in Bangladesh right away. You cannot ban Bangladesh’s oldest and largest political party, the one that led to independence. »

Other voices are being raised, at home and abroad, to warn that even if one fascist regime has been overthrown, another could be on the horizon.

So we decided to delve deeper into this topic and explore the real reason behind all the fuss about fascism and what the future holds for the country.

According to social scientist Dr Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury, former vice-chancellor of the University of Chittagong, fascism is “fundamentally political”, rooted in vested interests and enabled by corrupt practices.

He characterizes it as a system in which the state is manipulated to serve the desires of a single ruler, often by suppressing opposition and silencing dissent.

Dr. Chowdhury notes that from 1919 to 1945, fascism was very present in various European countries, where far-right nationalism was emerging. This ideology excluded the opposition, favoring an authoritarian regime that did not take into account individual freedoms.

The concept of fascism originated in Italy after World War I and gradually spread to various countries in Europe, including Germany. The rise of Nazism under Hitler in Germany represented a form of fascism, facilitating the emergence of controversial leaders like Hitler and Mussolini across Europe.

Fascist parties aimed for absolute dominance over state power, seeking to control various institutions, including the Church, the judiciary, universities, social clubs, and sporting organizations. They believed in the absolute authority of an individual, with the head of the political party also serving as the head of state, vested with all powers.

“During the tenure of the previous government, we saw all the signs of this,” says Dr Chowdhury.

HAS expert in local government and electoral affairs For Tofail Ahmed, also a member of the electoral system reform commission appointed by the interim government, the foundations of fascism within the Hasina regime can also be linked to the concept of Bonapartism.

Originally formulated by Marx in The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis BonaparteBonapartism describes a leader who gains power by appealing to popular sentiment but who gradually dismantles democratic structures to centralize authority.

In Bangladesh, the roots of this phenomenon date back to 1973-74, during the reign of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who attempted to centralize power by merging his authority with the state apparatus.

“Over the years, Mujib’s daughter Hasina built on these Bonapartist foundations, favoring authoritarian rule characterized by a systematic erosion of institutional autonomy throughout her tenure,” Dr Ahmed said.

However, can Hasina really be equated with Trump as a fascist? Kazi Mohammad Mahbobor Rahman, associate professor of political science at Dhaka University, is skeptical.

“It’s hard to call Trump a fascist at this point. After all, Trump was democratically elected president. It’s not like he was elected and then clung to power indefinitely. In many In other countries, once a person is democratically elected, they cannot transfer power again, allowing their personal identity to become politically dominant,” he explains.

Rahman further clarifies that when a political system revolves around the identity of a single person, where everyone believes that this individual embodies the entirety of politics, or when politics is limited to an exclusive group considering all others as enemies of the state, that’s when fascism appears. emerges. In such cases, the person, the government and the state merge into one.

But if there is electoral competition, it cannot be described as fascism; this scenario would be more accurately described as an electoral autocracy. If certain elements of a fascist identity can be observed in Trump, he nonetheless remains part of an electoral competition.

“So one could characterize him as the bearer of an electoral autocracy, establishing authoritarianism through democratic means. The opportunity to characterize him as a fascist has not yet fully presented itself,” says Rahman.

Dr. Ahmed agrees: “In the United States, the system itself does not breed fascism; on the contrary, an individual, like Trump, can embody these tendencies and even win a popular mandate without the same systematic reinforcement. »

It also draws parallels between the recent mass uprising in Bangladesh and historical events like the Arab Spring, particularly the Tunisian revolution of 2011, which saw the ouster of another long-standing authoritarian regime.

While the Tunisian uprising initially led to democratic progress, the country later faced political instability, economic stagnation, and the resurgence of autocratic elements.

Dr Ahmed warns that Bangladesh could face a similar fate if it fails to dismantle the institutional structures and political culture that enabled Hasina’s rule.

He believes that the overthrow of a single leader is only the first step; For a truly democratic transition, the country must reform the deeper power dynamics that support the authoritarian system.

“With influence shared between the caretaker government, the military and student groups, Bangladesh’s political landscape is fragmented but rife with potential for reform. Achieving a stable democratic system will require addressing the structural and economic foundations of authoritarianism, which requires patience and thoughtful action. “, he advises.

He further adds that to prevent any future ruler from easily merging personal power with state control, it is essential to dismantle the influence of entrenched interests and cultural forces.

Rahman, however, does not believe there is a chance that another fascist regime will emerge immediately after the ouster of the previous one.

“Fascism does not develop overnight. The previous government fell only three months ago and fascism cannot take root in such a short time. Understanding fascism requires observing a long period of time. This “Only after someone stays in power for a prolonged period of time do fascist characteristics begin to emerge,” he says.

He concluded by saying that if the Hasina government had not been in power continuously for the past 15 years, if there had not been three illegitimate elections, or if others had been allowed to participate in these elections, fascism would probably never have happened. a chance to introduce yourself.