The launching ceremony of two books titled “Transatlantic Transition: Back to the Global Future?” by Prof. Dr. Imtiaz A. Hussain and “21st Century High Politics in the Indo-Pacific and the Bay of Bengal” by Prof. Dr. Mohd. Aminul Karim was held at the Auditorium of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) at Bashundhara R/A, Dhaka on May 15, 2018. Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, Founder and Executive Chairman, Power and Participation Research Center and former Advisor to the Caretaker Government attended the ceremony as the Chief Guest. Mr. Towhid Samad, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Chittagong Independent University and Prof. M. Omar Rahman, Vice Chancellor, IUB were also present and spoke on the occasion.
The author, Prof. Dr. Imtiaz A. Hussain is the Head of Global Studies and Governance Program at IUB. Since the transatlantic relations field traces its origin to World War II, and restricts itself to discussing primarily U.S. relations with West European countries, the book “Transatlantic Transition: Back to the global Future?” shows through an examination of silver/slave trade and Muslim migration/West European democracy, how global and historical transatlantic boundaries actually are, with African and Latin American countries as central as North Atlantic, and Asia not far behind. By challenging transatlantic relations conceptually, theoretically, and empirically, these observations underscore the need to broaden and widen interpretations at a moment of enormous flux and globalizing dynamics.
The author, Prof. Dr. Mohd. Aminul Karim is the Dean, School of Business at IUB. Set in the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR), the book “21st Century High Politics in the Indo-Pacific and the Bay of Bengal” attempts to analyze the transition of the shift in world politics and economics’ center of gravity – and the ramifications thereof – on geopolitics, security, global trade, sea-lanes as well as the formation and restructuring of alliances and alignments. It also highlights the importance of the Bay of Bengal as a new frontier for development and confrontation. It describes the key players in this region, their interests, compulsions and imperatives, and covers different strategies launched by the United States, China, India, Japan, Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar to strengthen their ties and elevate their status in global and regional high politics.
During the session, these two notable books were reviewed by Brig. Gen. Shahedul Anam Khan, ndc, psc (Retd), Associate Editor, the Daily Star and Dr. A. S. M. Ali Ashraf, Professor of International Relations, University of Dhaka. Through analytical reviews, the reviewers discussed crosscutting issues of politics, global transitions, transformation of power, democracy and people’s eventual wellbeing to obtain through sustainable globalization.
Following the presentation, the floor was open for a question-answer session where both students and faculties participated enthusiastically. Academics and researchers of different organizations, senior members of the faculty and administration and a large number of students of IUB attended the Ceremony. Ms. Nuzhat Sharmeen, Lecturer, School of Business, IUB conducted the ceremony.
