L-R: Prof. Amena Mohsin, Mr. Humayun Kabir

'It is a culture of democracy both in practice and institution'

It is victory for pluralism; it is a victory for diversity; and it is victory for individual rights. Obama stands for gay rights; he stands for individualism; he stands for women's rights; he stands for the rights of minorities, and rights of the immigrant population. Propagating a culture where you have pluralism as well as respect for diversity.
We have a lot to learn from this election. In Obama's election speech he asked people to go and vote enthusiastically; he thanked his own supporters. He also thanked supporters of Romney; and even urged them to go and vote for Romney. It is a culture of democracy, both in practice and institution. And Romney in his concession speech said that he had wished he could have led the nation, but at the same time he accepted the fact that the nation wanted to have another leadership. Both the leaders showed that they could rise above the parties, and they demonstrated their statesmanship, which is very much lacking in Bangladesh. Our leaders cannot get above party politics; they do not think about the state. Our leaders should learn from them.

The writer is Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka.

This is a positive development. For the last four years Obama has been trying to do things in a different way in his domestic policy as well as foreign policy. He introduced a new kind of diplomacy to deal with global affairs. He did a commendable job in ending the war in Iraq and withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. Bangladesh has been getting benefit from his different initiatives, like Feed the Future, Global Health, Food Security Initiative, etc. Bangladesh is also benefiting from the security cooperation with the US. I hope in Obama's second term we will get more attention in all these areas.
We should learn from the US election that one should be ready for win or loss, and showi respect to the public's decision. We have seen graciousness in both of the candidates; they acknowledge the effort the other side has made. Romney said that the election had ended but the principle would endure. Obama said that good time is ahead, but we have to work for that. We have to learn that election is not an end in itself, rather it is a means for public service to promote the interest of the common people who put their trust in the leadership.

The writer is a retired diplomat and was Ambassador to the US.