This article examines the connection between politics of Islamo-nationalism in Bangladesh and Bangladesh’s policy of balancing against India. In response to India’s regional supremacy in South Asia, especially India’s dominance over Bangladesh, policy makers in Bangladesh have constantly faced two options: either ‘bandwagoning’ with India, or ‘balancing’ against the regional hegemon. Interestingly, since the 1990s until 2013, Bangladesh’s response has always swung from one side to another – from bandwagoning to balancing – in connection with the rotation of Bangladesh regime between two major political parties: the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Bangladesh Awami League (AL). Bangladesh – with the BNP’s hold on power – preferred a policy of balancing against India’s dominance. During the regime of the AL, such policy dramatically shifted towards bandwagoning with India. The BNP’s preference for a balancing policy constitutes a puzzle. Weak states – which are not capable of changing unequal outcomes in the face of a preponderant power – generally pursue a policy of bandwagoning. Thus, the puzzle is as to why Bangladesh – despite being a weak actor vis-a-vis India’s overwhelming regional supremacy – pursued a policy of balancing against India during the BNP’s hold on power. This article asserts that the BNP’s politics of Islamo-nationalism is a key variable that can answer the above puzzle. The ‘self–other’ notion of Islamo-nationalism defines the national ‘selfness’ of Bangladesh in terms of the Islamic identity for its overwhelming Muslim masses, and constructs India, henceforth in this article, ‘Hindu India’, as the ‘enemy–other’ to ‘Muslim Bangladesh’.

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伊斯兰民族主义、国内政治和孟加拉国自 1990 年代以来对印度的制衡政策

本文考察了孟加拉国的伊斯兰民族主义政治与孟加拉国平衡印度的政策之间的联系。针对印度在南亚的地区霸权，尤其是印度对孟加拉国的主导地位，孟加拉国的决策者不断面临两种选择：要么与印度“跟风”，要么与地区霸权“制衡”。有趣的是，从 1990 年代到 2013 年，随着孟加拉国政权在孟加拉国民族主义党 (BNP) 和孟加拉国人民联盟这两个主要政党之间轮换，孟加拉国的反应总是从一边转向另一边——从随波逐流到平衡—— (AL)。孟加拉国——在 BNP 掌权的情况下——更喜欢采取平衡印度主导地位的政策。在 AL 执政期间，这种政策戏剧性地转向追随印度。法国巴黎银行对平衡政策的偏爱构成了一个难题。弱国——面对优势力量无法改变不平等的结果——通常奉行随波逐流的政策。因此，令人困惑的是，为什么孟加拉国——尽管相对于印度压倒性的地区霸权而言是一个弱者——在 BNP 掌权期间奉行与印度制衡的政策。本文断言，BNP 的伊斯兰民族主义政治是可以回答上述难题的关键变量。伊斯兰民族主义的“自我-他者”概念根据其压倒性的穆斯林群众的伊斯兰身份定义了孟加拉国的民族“自我”，并构建了印度，此后在本文中称为“印度教印度”，