Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the changing face of security in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The past decade has seen a decline in gangsters, the 'mastan', and the further party politicisation of urban life.

Paper long abstract:

Urban Bangladesh has seen radical change over the past decade. From being dominated by entrepreneurial gangsters, often known locally as mastan, it is now more explicitly controlled by wings of the ruling party. In many ways party figures have simply replaced the gangsters at lower levels, mediating access to work and services, operating extortion networks and illegal businesses. But this party politicisation of urban life has also brought a greater degree of stability to the social order, improving experiences of security. This presentation will make these arguments through recent ethnographic research from a large, and infamous, market place at the centre of Dhaka. It will sketch the rise and fall of a prominent local gangster, and examine the significance of party politics today.