The School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Department of Global Studies and Governance (GSG) of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) launched the much-awaited and talked about book titled Global-Local Tradeoffs, Order-Disorder Consequences: 'State' No More An Island? on Thursday (June 9) at the Multi-purpose Hall on the university campus. 

Edited by Dr. Imtiaz A Hussain, professor at the GSG department and Director of the Centre for Pedagogy at IUB, and published recently by Palgrave Macmillan, the book deals with a number of contemporary global-local issues including the refugee crisis, climate change, migration and trade in 12 research papers, which have been authored by renowned local and foreign experts in the fields of international relations, political science, law, and so on.

Md. Shahriar Alam, MP, and State Minister for Foreign Affairs said that “Bangladesh alone cannot look after one million plus Myanmar nationals. That is why foreign support is crucial and absolutely necessary. This crisis needs to be framed as a global and collective problem rather than a local or Bangladesh-specific one. And that is exactly what we are doing from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

Professor Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed from the Department of International Relations of University of Dhaka spoke as a Special Guest and said that “We are heading towards a multipolar world, although historically, the world has always been unipolar. Once there was British dominance, something which we call pax Britannica. Then came the American dominance, something which we may call pax Americana. But it appears that this trend is going to end soon.”

Former state minister for foreign affairs Mr. Abul Hasan Chowdhury also spoke as a special guest. Prof. Dr. Amena Mohsin from the International Relations department of Dhaka University, Prof. Shahab Enam Khan from the International Relations department of Jahangirnagar University, and Subaita Fairooz, graduate student at IUB’s GSG department, spoke at the reviewers of the book. 

IUB Board of Trustees Chair Mr. Abdul Hai Sarkar; Vice Chancellor Tanweer Hasan, PhD; Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof. Niaz Ahmed Khan, PhD; and Dean of School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Prof. Taiabur Rahman, PhD, also spoke at the program, which was moderated by Dr. Marufa Akter, Head of the GSG department.

BDST: 1624 HRS, JUNE 12, 2022
MSK