Bangladesh, March 1 -- When Professor Muhammad Yunus assumed leadership of Bangladeshs interim government in August 2024, the symbolism was powerful. Here was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate-founder of Grameen Bank and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize-stepping into the vacuum left by the fall of Sheikh Hasina after a turbulent popular uprising. For many observers at home and abroad, Yunuss appointment seemed to mark a moral reset: an 85-year-old global icon of social business entrusted with stabilizing a deeply polarized nation.

Yet, as with many moments of political transition, the distance between expectation and measurable outcomes has generated friction. Yunuss tenure, which concluded on February 16, has left behind a contentious...