Marie Michael Library

Citizenship narratives in the absence of good governance: Voices of the working poor in Bangladesh

Kabeer, Naila; Kabir, Ariful Haq

The challenge posed by state-society relations to citizenship rights in poorer countries reflects the state's inability to guarantee basic security of life and livelihoods to its citizens.  Access to resources continues to be defined by position within a social order. This paper explores the idea that the possibility of belonging to alternative associations whose membership is not given by position in the social order holds the greatest promise for democratising the social order.