Abstract
This article discusses the reasons for the fall in December 1990 of the Bangladeshimilitary-authoritarian government of Lt. Gen. H. M. Ershad that came to power in 1982.The inability of the government to implement its economic and political projects undercutits credibility and legitimacy. Its failures to legitimize itself and implement IMF/Donors-prescribed economic measures had reinforcing adverse effects on each other. Thegovernment's economic failures engendered resistance among various sectors of civil soci-ety, and exogenous forces also were disappointed with its poor economic performance. Itsfailure to legitimize itself also resulted in a fracture within the ruling coalition and achallenge to the government by opposition parties. In this context, the rise of a group ofapolitical officers in the military hierarchy in the late 1980s, the end of the Cold War, andthe surge of civil society brought down Ershad's authoritarian government.
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