AAS 2014 Book Highlight! Made in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka by Sanchita Saxena

The general perception of the garment and textile industry in the Global South is fueled only by images of dismal labor conditions and unsuitable factories, descriptions of labor clashes with police, and analyses of low wages and exploitative multinational corporations. This book presents an insightful perspective on the garment and textiles industries in Asia by highlighting that an industry fraught with competing concerns can, in fact, collaborate and work together when it is in the interest of both the state and interest groups to do so. This comparative study recognizes the role of both the state and interest groups in the policy making process and argues that they are interlinked and require one another for sustainable reforms.

Praise for Made in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka: The Labor Behind the Global Garments and Textiles Industries:
“Sanchita Saxena’s insightful and perceptive book explains how the garment industry in many Asian countries not only weathered the storm predicted when the Multi Fiber Agreement was phased out, but in fact exploited the opening to become prominent garment exporters in the world. Her analytic explanation for this success, through the concept of domestic coalitions of the important stakeholders, is creative and persuasive. And most exciting to me is the potential that domestic coalitions in industry might augment to full-fledged policy networks, perhaps to grow into the kind of inclusive political institutions that are the basis of modernization and real democracy.” – William Milam, Senior Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center and former U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh

“Sanchita Saxena has a keen mind and a big heart. Her book offers the best of both. It’s a unique guide to the interaction of businesses, bureaucrats, activists, unions, and workers; the way their collisions make policy; and the nature of development. And it’s a challenge, complete with lots of practical ideas, to all of us to do better.” – Edward Gresser, Executive director of Progressive Economy and former Policy Advisor to the U.S. Trade Representative under the Clinton Administration

“This book is based on extensive field research across three Asian nations––Bangladesh, Cambodia and Sri Lanka––and presents a treasure trove of new industry level data on the garment exports industries and related sectors. It makes a compelling argument and presents both sides––the positive and negative––of the trends and developments. In fact, part of the value of this work is that it is a rebuttal of the existing scholarly (and popular) literature that focuses more on the hostilities in the industries, ignoring partnerships and coalition building. This book makes an important contribution to the literature.” – Munir Quddus, Dean College of Business, Prairie View A&M University

• Commentary that aired on KQED World
  Can Bangladesh Find Justice after Factory Tragedy? by Sanchita Saxena
  On the building collapse in Bangladesh that caused the death of more than a thousand garment factory workers.

• New York Times Op-Ed (December 11, 2012)
  American Tariffs, Bangladeshi Deaths  by Sanchita Saxena
  On the impact of US trade policies on Bangladesh’s garment industry.

MEET THE AUTHOR AT AAS! Dr. Saxena will be speaking at the AAS book launch session (room 407) on Friday (March 28) at 7:30 p.m.

Please visit the Cambria Press booth #302 (right in front of the exhibit hall entrance) .

Check out the 2014 Cambria Press Asian studies catalog and download the booklist for your librarian.

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