Ali Riaz is a Distinguished Professor of political science at Illinois State University, President of the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies (AIBS) and a Non-resident Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council. Between October 2024 and February 2026, he consecutively served as the Head of the Constitution Reform Commission, Vice-Chair of the National Consensus Commission, and a Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor of the Interim Government of Bangladesh. Previously he was a Visiting Researcher at the Varieties of Democracy Institute (V-Dem) at Sweden (2023), and a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at Washington D.C. (2013). His research interests include democratization, South Asian politics, Bangladeshi politics and violent extremism. Dr. Riaz’s recent publications include A Fractured Path: Challenges to Democratic Transition in Bangladesh (2025) and Pathways for Autocratization: The Tumultuous Journey of Bangladeshi Politics (2023).
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