ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the institutional nature of the political parties, their organizational behaviors, leadership types, and their overall roles in the democratization process in Bangladesh and other South Asian countries. The authoritarian nature of leadership often harms the growth of parties as democratic and durable political institutions. The chapter focuses on factors such as the leadership problems or the roles of the leaders in the political parties, factional politics, defection and institutionalization problems in a party. Factional grappling, and crumbling of parties into various fragments also adversely affect the growth of political parties in Bangladesh and in other South Asian countries. There are factional schisms among old Awami Leaguers (AL), as well as among the more youthful party leaders. After the 1975 coup General Ziaur Rahman emerged as the dominant figure, and issued a regulation in 1976 for the revival of political parties.
