The Bay of Bengal: Next theatre for strategic power play in Asia
Abstract This paper explores the factors behind the increasing strategic significance of the Bay of Bengal in the current geopolitical context. The study starts by highlighting the factors contributing to the rising importance of the littoral region from a general economic, geopolitical and energy perspective. It then analyses the specific objectives and strategic aspirations of the major powers involved in the Bay, and how those may turn the area into a hub of converging, and/or conflicting interests. The focus is then shifted toward the smaller littoral nations and their individual relations with the major players. Finally, challenges to stability in the region are discussed, and a cooperative approach is suggested for the context of the Bay. The paper argues that the strategic importance of the Bay will considerably increase in the coming years. As the nations involved are major and rising powers, the power play in the area will inevitably reshape the dynamics of the region. The interests that are at stake are also of crucial importance to the countries involved; hence, their protection will also demand a rapid militarization of the littoral. Most of these countries are now redirecting their focus from land to sea, which is adding a whole new dimension to the importance of the Bay. However, this paper argues that cooperation and competition is in all the nations’ best interest, as any conflict in the Bay region could bring in political, economic and energy insecurity affecting all the concerned countries. Another dimension this paper explores is the implication of this competition on smaller nations and their role in the larger schemes of the major powers. In order to lay out an exhaustive and holistic view, historical, economic, military, geopolitical and social factors have been taken into account in this research
The Prospect of Belt and Road Initiative in the Context of Bangladesh
The purpose of this article is to examine the prospect of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from the perspective of Bangladesh. The article investigates fundamental aspects of China’s economic involvement in Bangladesh to understand the geo-economic basis of the initiative. In this respect, the objective and motivation behind Chinese involvement in Bangladesh’s economy are studied, and the political and economic challenges emanating from the participation of the latter country in the initiative are outlined. Methodologically, this research adopts a qualitative approach and relies on primary sources to collect data. It concludes with an observation that Chinese investments through BRI could, in the long term, be advantageous for Bangladesh’s economy as long as the regional and economic issues associated with the initiative are appropriately dealt with. Besides, it suggests that the success of the initiative in South Asia, as well as in Bangladesh, requires a collaborative effort from all the states of the region on functional issue areas such as trade and connectivity.
The Value Base of Social Work
Abstract Values may be conceived along three basic dimensions which would account for the major value orientations shared by social workers and related to all aspects of their professional practice. These are: preferred conceptions of people, preferred outcomes for people, and preferred instrumentalities for dealing with people. Distinguished from “knowledge,” and adequately refined, these categories of values might constitute a guide for planning and action in social work practice and education. The predictability of professional behavior which might then result would also define the expectations of clients and society with respect to what the social work profession stands for and what it does.