Lourens Van Haaften
Lourens van Haaften is a PhD candidate for the History Department of the KU Leuven, Belgium. In his doctoral research project he studies the development of higher education in India in the period 1960-2000 and its role in changing Indian business cultures. The project is part of the Innovative Training Network titled ‘Explaining Global India’, funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme.
Latest TSA
Public Review of the EU Election Observation Mission Final Report on the 2026 Parliamentary...
Public Review of the EU Election Observation Mission Final Report on the 2026 Parliamentary Elections in Bangladesh
South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF)
Background
On 28 April 2026, the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) published its Final Report on the 12 February 2026 parliamentary elections in Bangladesh (1), describing the elections...
US–Bangladesh New Trade Agreement: Impacts of Ending Subsidies in Agriculture and Industry, and Future...
On February 9, 2026, Bangladesh’s interim government signed a bilateral trade agreement with the United States. This agreement has sparked widespread debate regarding Bangladesh’s autonomy in economic policymaking and its sovereignty (CPD April 19, 2026). As an apparent concession, the United States reduced reciprocal tariffs on Bangladeshi goods from...
Iran, Israel, and US War: South Asian Migrant Workers and the Need for a...
Introduction:
“It was nothing like any sound I have heard before in my life,” said Vikrant, a 28-year-old Dubai-based Indian delivery worker, recalling the thunder of explosions when Iranian drones struck the United Arab Emirates (Kumar, 2026). Fearing for his safety, he shared only his first name. Today, Vikrant’s anxiety...