{"id":24784,"date":"2025-08-06T23:23:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T22:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/?p=24784"},"modified":"2025-08-07T21:37:40","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T20:37:40","slug":"why-the-colour-revolution-in-bangladesh-lacks-philosophical-legitimacy-a-kantian-and-weberian-critique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/robidas\/24784","title":{"rendered":"Why the Colour Revolution in Bangladesh Lacks Philosophical Legitimacy: A Kantian and Weberian Critique"},"content":{"rendered":"

The so-called July 2024 \u201cColour Revolution\u201d in Bangladesh, which led to the collapse of Sheikh Hasina\u2019s long-standing government\u00a0and the formation of an interim government, has been widely celebrated as a democratic breakthrough. Yet, from the perspectives of <\/span>Immanuel Kant<\/span><\/b>, <\/span>Max Weber<\/span><\/b>, and several contemporary theorists, this revolution raises serious questions about its <\/span>philosophical and sociological legitimacy<\/span><\/b>. This came to my attention while talking with another author Jahanara Nuri, who has already published <\/span>an article<\/span><\/a> on this platform after Yunus announced a <\/span>\u201cJuly Charter\u201d<\/span><\/a> at the anniversary of the so-called \u201crevolution\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We must admit that what happened in July \u2013 August 2024 is not a \u201crevolution\u201d. However, the National Citizens Party (NCP), Bangladesh Jamat-e-Islami (BJI) and its students\u2019 wing Islami Chatra Shibir (ICS), and other Islamist right wing political parties are claiming it as \u201crevolution\u201d, while Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and left-wing political parties are claiming it as \u201cmass uprising\u201d or \u201cresurgence\u201d. The Bangladesh Awami League and its allies are claiming it as a \u201ccoup\u201d, since it is a part of a \u201cmeticulous design\u201d as Yunus and his team <\/span>claimed<\/span><\/a> it. After having this conversation with Jahanara Nuri, I understood that there is a necessity to explain why philosophically this is not a \u201crevolution\u201d. Hence, in this article I have discussed Kant and Weber\u2019s philosophies to explain why this is not a revolution and why the government lacks the legitimacy to declare this July Charter. \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kant: Revolution Is Morally Impermissible<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Immanuel Kant\u2019s political philosophy is grounded in <\/span>legalism and moral duty<\/span><\/b>. In his <\/span>Doctrine of Right<\/span><\/i>, part of the <\/span>Metaphysics of Morals<\/span><\/i>, Kant categorically <\/span>states<\/span><\/a>: <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is\u2026 no right to sedition, still less to rebellion, and least of all is there a right against the head of a state\u2026 to attack his person or even his life on the pretext that he has abused his authority.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kant\u2019s rejection<\/span><\/a> of revolution stems from his belief that <\/span>law is the condition of freedom<\/span><\/b>. Even unjust governments must be challenged <\/span>within the bounds of law<\/span><\/b>, because revolution undermines the very legal framework that secures civil liberty.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>Perpetual Peace<\/span><\/i>, Kant further <\/span>argues<\/span><\/a> that <\/span>peace must be pursued through lawful reform, not upheaval<\/span><\/b>, and that <\/span>no state has the right to interfere with the constitution of another<\/span><\/b>. The \u201cColour Revolution\u201d in Bangladesh, due to its terrorizing and destructive\u00a0nature, involved the <\/span>collapse of constitutional order<\/span><\/b>, the <\/span>storming of government buildings<\/span><\/b>, killing of <\/span>police officials<\/span><\/b>, torture and killing of <\/span>religious and ethnic minorities, mob attacks<\/span><\/b>, forcing <\/span>teachers, admin officers and police officers to resign<\/span><\/b>, spreading <\/span>misinformation, disinformation and hatred on social media, <\/span><\/b>rise of <\/span>crimes against women and journalists<\/span><\/b>, filing <\/span>mass cases <\/span><\/b>targeting anyone who believed in the high ideals of 1971 war of liberation, demolition of <\/span>thousands of statutes related to the history<\/span><\/b>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>and the <\/span>installation of an unelected interim regime<\/span><\/b>\u2014all of which Kant would deem <\/span>morally impermissible<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Weber and Feh\u00e9r: Legitimacy Requires Institutionalization and Durability<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Max Weber\u2019s <\/span>theory<\/span><\/a> of legitimacy, articulated in <\/span>Economy and Society<\/span><\/i>, defines authority as legitimate only when it is <\/span>believed to be rightful<\/span><\/b> by those who obey it. He identifies three types of legitimate authority:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n