The Crisis, Struggle and Ethical Reconstruction of Sovereignty in Bangladesh: Insaf Orientation and Cognitive Sovereignty in the Thought of Sharif Osman Hadi.

The 2024 July–August mass mobilization in Bangladesh toppled an entrenched regime, challenging conventional sovereignty narratives centred on territorial security and economic dependency. This study respecifies the conventional understanding of sovereignty by integrating moral legitimacy (Insaf) and epistemic autonomy (Cognitive Autonomy, CA) as constitutive, rather than peripheral, elements. Drawing on Sharif Osman Hadi’s (1993–2025) political thought, it intervenes through his concepts of “Insaf Orientation”—a justice-centred normative architecture—and “Cognitive Sovereignty,” which prioritises epistemic insulation from external hegemony. Phase I (Jan 2026) will employ a qualitative interpretive methodology to conduct thematic analysis. The central claim posits the Hadi Framework formalized as S = T + M + CA + I—a composite rather than arithmetical formulation, here military capacity (M) is normatively constrained by moral legitimacy It advances an alternative ethical–political model for South Asia’s fragile states, transcending the ‘dependent state’ paradigm by foregrounding justice-centred legitimacy and epistemic autonomy. This paper is presented as a conceptual and interpretive framework rather than a finalized empirical model; its primary contribution lies in retheorizing sovereignty through the normative lenses of justice (Insaf) and cognitive autonomy, grounded in the post–July 2024 political conjuncture of Bangladesh. Ultimately, this study re-specifies the parameters of South Asian statecraft, offering a dignity-based model for fragile states.