International Political Science Association (IPSA) Joint IPSA Regional Conference in Bangladesh organized by Dr. Zillur R. Khan, Chair of IPSA Research Committee on Rethinking Political Development Jointly Hosted by Policy Research Institute (PRI) and Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI), to be held on February 1-2, 2014, at PRI Express House, House 16 (4th Floor), Road 10/A, Block F, Banani (Next to Sajna Restaurant), Dhaka-1213 You are cordially invited to participate in the theme of the Conference: Rethinking Political Development: Cultures, Civilizations and Identity Professor Rehman Sobhan: Chief Guest (February 01, 2014) Chairman, Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Former Economic Adviser to the Interim Government of Bangladesh

Dr. Masihur Rahman: Chief Guest (February 02, 2014) Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister, Government of Bangladesh

Keynote Address: Dr. Zillur R. Khan Chair, RC 37, IPSA, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin and Adjunct Professor Rollins College, USA; Distinguished Fellow, PRI, Bangladesh Your presence will surely add substance to the event

Ambassador Farooq Sobhan, Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur President, BEI, Bangladesh Executive Director, PRI PS. Please note that we have switched to electronic invitation mode and no card will be mailed. To regret Email: pri.bangladesh@gmail.com, info@pri-bd.org Tel: 9899759, 9872376

Chair: Ambassador Farooq Sobhan President, BEI, Bangladesh

9:30am – 9:45am Opening Remarks Chief Guest: Professor Rehman Sobhan, Chairman, Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Former Economic Adviser to the Interim Government of Bangladesh

9:45am--10:15am

    Keynote: Cultures, Civilizations and Identity in Democratization

Dr. Zillur R. Khan, Chair, RC 37, IPSA Commentator: Ambassador Rashed Ahmed, Former UN Chief of Mission, Kosovo

10:15am —10:30am Coffee Break Schism and Political Development

Moderator: Dr. Sadiq Ahmed, Vice President, PRI

10:30am - 12:30pm Schisms in Christianity and Islam in Comparative Perspectives: Impact on Political Development Hassan Mneimneh, Senior Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund, Washington DC.

The Arab Variant of Democracy: Islam and Secularism Professor Mark Farha, Visiting Professor of Middle Eastern Politics, Georgetown University, School Of Foreign Service, Doha, Qatar.

Secularism and Political Development in India Prof. C. P. Barthwal, Former Vice Chancellor, Kumaun University, Nainital; Professor and Head of Public Administration and Dean, Lucknow University; Editor, Indian Journal of Political Science & Bharatya Rajniti Vigyan Shod Patrika (India).

Commentator: Dr. Tazeen Murshid, Centre for Development Research and Cooperation (DRC-Global), Belgium, Member, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh

12:30pm—2:00pm Lunch

Day 1: Session II

Political-Territorial Identity and Political Development

Moderator: Dr. Mizanur Rahman Shelley, Chairman, Center for Development Research-Bangladesh (CDRB)

2:00pm—3:30pm A Re-evaluation of the work of Samuel Huntington on Political Development in the Light of Pakistan's Troubled Experience with Democracy and Dictatorship Professor Theodore Wright, Former President, South Asian Muslim Studies Association (SAMSA), Professor Emeritus of Political Science, The State University of New York at Albany.

Political Development and Crossroads of Cultural Constructs Ms. Rana Tiwari, Attorney-at-Law, Rana Tiwari Offices, USA.

Russian Social and Political Discourse in Democratizations Dr. Yan Vaslavkiy, Moscow State University, Russian Federation

Commentator: Dr. Ameena Mohsin, Professor, Dhaka University, Bangladesh Round Table Discussion: Social Evaluation of Democracy: The Consensus Building Process

3:30pm-5:00pm Moderator: Dr. Meghna Guhathakurta, Executive Director, Research Initiative, Bangladesh (RIB)

Special Guest Participants: Mr. Enam Ahmed Choudhury, Former Secretary and Adviser to Former Leader of the Opposition, Government of Bangladesh

Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar, Secretary, SHUJON (Civil Society Association on Good Governance)

Dr. Tazeen Murshid, Centre for Development Research and Cooperation (DRC-Global), Belgium, Member, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh 7: 00 PM: Dinner Reception At Ambassador & Mrs. Rashed Ahmed’s Arcadia Plaza: House # 65/A, Flat # 2B, Road # 7 /A, Dhanmondi R/A (next to Scholars School), Dhaka, Bangladesh. Phone: Off: +88-02-9125870, +88-02-9129849, Res: +88-02-9130723 Cell: +88-1715778608, +88-01937991900

Gender, Stability and Advancement

Moderator: Dr. Ahsan Mansur, Executive Director, PRI

9:30am – 9:45am Opening Remarks Chief Guest: Dr. Mashiur Rahman, Economic Adviser, Government of Bangladesh

9:45am – 12:00pm Law and Culture in Women’s Empowerment for Sustainable Development Maneeza Hossain, Senior Fellow Hudson Institute, USA, Director at Daily Ittefaq, Bangladesh

Role of Civil Society and Women’s Movements in Egypt in the Context of Arab Spring Abdul Gaffar, Doctoral Candidate, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

Rethinking Sino-Japanese Relation: The Russian Perspective Dr. Yan Vaslavkiy, Moscow State University, Russian Federation

12:00pm – 12:30pm Open Discussions

12:30pm – 2:00pm Lunch

Day 2: Session II

Public-Private Interactions for Political Development

Moderator: Ambassador Humayun Kabir, Vice President, BEI; Former Ambassador of Bangladesh in the USA

2:00pm – 4:00pm Will Policy Paralysis Undermine India’s Growth Story? Dr. Upendra Choudhury, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Aligarh-202002, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Corporate Law and Public-Private Cooperation in Political Development- Mr. Masud Khan, Barrister Anita Ghazi, Legal Circle, Bangladesh.

Concluding Remarks: Dr. Zillur R. Khan, Chair, RC 37, IPSA

Announcement: Book Launching of Regional Cooperation and Globalization : Bangladesh, South Asia and Beyond by Zillur R. Khan and Meghna Guhathakurta (Eds.), UPL, 2012, jointly organized by BEI and BIISS will be held at BIISS Auditorium during the third week of December, 2014, or first week of January, 2015.