Betwixt and Between: Bangladesh Military in Business. A Comment from an International Perspective

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Abstract

First of all, one has to emphasize that this discussion is about a phenomenon which is not a sole Pakistan or Bangladesh trend, or an Asian invention, but rather appears worldwide. Second, business activities of soldiers are not a new trend. They can be traced back some hundred years ago – even before the emergence of standing armies – where a military leader had to be not only a soldier but also an entrepreneur who had to accumulate funds and other resources by himself to keep his troops fighting. In other words, taking military history into account, the notion that an army should be maintained exclusively by a state or its government is quite young. In more recent times, certain events and developments like the two World Wars, processes of de-colonization, or the implosion of the Soviet Union led to a further opening up of opportunities for the military to enter the economic sphere as well as to a sophistication of their already existing business activities. Today, military economic enterprises come in various shapes and forms like Military-Owned-Businesses (whole or partly, often via foundations and cooperatives), Military-Private Partnerships and Military Collaborations with Private Businesses, including Private Sponsorship Programs for the armed forces. (...)