Tax Evasion and the Role of the State Actor(s) in Bangladesh

Little attention has been paid to tax evasion in developing countries due to a lack of data. This article addresses this lacuna by investigating the tax evasion practices and finds significant increases in tax evasion in Bangladesh. The study makes a major contribution to the literature in tax evasion, and indicates that the norms of state actor(s) (i.e. the National Board of Revenue–the sole tax authority in Bangladesh) lie in the interests of politicians and the continuation of corruption. The legitimacy of the state actors in this case means that they act as facilitators for increasing tax evasion practices. Therefore, the current system has endured remarkably robustly to date, and coercive isomorphism is indeed needed in the institutionalization process.     

Causes of the US Hostage Crisis in Iran: The Untold Account of the Communist Threat

This article provides a revisionist account of the occupation of the US embassy in Tehran in November 1979, one of the most conspicuous manifestations of anti-Americanism in recent history. Drawing solely upon primary documents, largely from various Iranian communists and Islamists, it questions the conventional wisdom that the Islamists' takeover of the embassy was a grassroots reaction to American policies, particularly after President Carter admitted the ailing Shah. It also challenges the argument that the radical students stormed the embassy primarily to bring down the nationalist provisional government. Instead, I introduce a critical overlooked factor and argue that the Hostage Crisis can be better explained as a preemptive act by the Islamists to outbid the leftists' anti-American activities. I demonstrate that the United States and the Islamists were seeking to maintain normal relations during and even after the 1979 revolution. However, various communist organizations that surfaced after the revolution posed an existential threat to the new Islamist-nationalist government, quickly dominating universities, labor unions, and intellectual circles throughout the country and accusing the Islamists and their nationalist allies of collaborating with the United States. In this climate, the Islamists strategically adopted the Left's anti-imperialist language and eventually occupied the US embassy to establish their anti-American credibility.     

关于孟加拉国卡西族社会经济特点的研究

本文提供了关于孟加拉国卡西族的原始资料。此项研究目的在于揭示孟加拉国卡西族的社会经济特点和其家庭的生活水平。锡尔赫特地区中两块区域被选作此次研究的试验地。每个区域中共有 4 0个家庭被调查取样。结果显示 38%的家庭没有自已的土地 ,其中只有7%的家庭是大家庭。绝大多数的小农场主和他的家庭成员都没受过正式的教育。卡西族人家庭主要从事的都是农业 ,并且生活水平都不高。有一些卡西族人家庭是从商的。他们面临着不少问题 ,不断增加的政府发展计划正逐渐改善他的生活水平。     

Economic Liberalization and the Race for Non-oil Minerals

The significance of minerals to states dates far back into history. They were primarily strategically important to equip the military. This is still the case, but over the last century, minerals have taken up a new and larger role for ensuring national security. World War II was attributed with Europe＇s mercantilist rule which was strongly based on the realist ideology. After World War II, classical liberal theory presented the means to reduce armed conflicts by increasing economic inter-dependencies among nations and became the foundation of a new economic order with economic liberalization at its heart. Simultaneously, economic security gained growing importance relative to military security, and the definition and scope of critical minerals also reached new dimensions. Over the last few decades, economic liberalization has given way to new players gaining position in global markets. Their increased demand together with the already vast demands of industrialized nations has increased competition in securing critical minerals necessary for economic growth. Not only has economic liberalization led to a free trade, but also to the deregulation of the financial market. This in turn has given way to more flexible financing methods in the minerals industry and inaugurated the consolidation of large firms. This paper explains the significance of non-oil minerals and discusses how economic liberalization has affected the demand and supply of minerals. It would go on to highlight emerging economies, especially China, and examine if liberalization holds in the race for mineral resources or if it will gradually crumple under the strain of securing them.