Role of Electoral Competition in Explaining Political Violence in Bangladesh

Abstract

This article deals with political violence in Bangladesh. Using a time series data for a period of five years, this article shows that the degree of political violence varies widely in districts and argue that this can be explained by difference in political competitiveness. This article uses election competition as a proxy of overall political competitiveness in a district and examines whether it can explain variation in political violence in districts. This article test the hypothesis using a multiple regression model and finds substantial support for the hypothesis. It is also found that allocation of development expenditure, population density and urban centricity along with location of regional headquarters are strong determinant of political violence.