Will COVID-19 Make This Year’s Election Different for People’s Action Party...
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong declared in a televised address last week that Singapore would hold its next general election on July 10. Lee and other...
Maria Ressa’s Verdict: A Capstone for the Collapse of Press Freedom...
Yesterday (U.S. time), editor Maria Ressa, one of the most prominent journalists in the Philippines, and indeed in the world—she was selected as one...
Duterte Goes Farther in Using COVID-19
In recent months, Southeast Asian leaders—and leaders from many other parts of the world—have utilized the COVID-19 pandemic to expand executive powers, crack down on...
Thailand, Corruption and Terror
The drama of a mass shooting carried out by a rogue Thai Army soldier ended on Sunday, February 9. After 16 hours of chaos,...
Southeast Asia Continues to Struggle to Confront the Coronavirus
Although Southeast Asia remains the region where the coronavirus is most likely to spread in significant numbers, most of the region’s states remain significantly...
Thailand’s Press Warms to Chinese State Media
In a country ruled for much of the 2010s by a repressive military junta, and where information about powerful actors can be dangerous to...
What Happens if Rohingya Stay in Bangladesh Forever?
Earlier this month, the Myanmar government embarked upon a new plan to begin repatriating Rohingya who had fled Rakhine State after waves of brutal...
Previewing This Weekend’s ASEAN Summit
The summit this weekend of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), held in Bangkok, will probably be less contentious than some...
Thailand’s Election: What to Know
After nearly five years under a junta, Thailand will hold national elections on March 24. They could be a turning point for a country...
A Tough Year for Democracy in Southeast Asia
2018 was a brutal year, in many ways, for civil society activists, rights advocates, and democratic politicians throughout Southeast Asia. Cambodia’s government transformed from...
US Vice President trip to Asia explained
In November, Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Asia, in the place of President Trump, for the East Asia Summit and ASEAN summit...
Najib, Malaysia’s Next Steps in Fighting Corruption, and Lessons for Indonesia
Last week, the Malaysian government arrested former prime minister Najib Tun Razak on charges of corruption and criminal breaches of trust, in allegations related...
Could seaweed solve Indonesia’s plastic crisis?
(Originally published in The Guardian)
Indonesia produces more marine plastic pollution than any other country except China. It is the world’s biggest archipelago also its...
Democratic Transitions and the Might of the State
It has been almost two months since the 14th general elections that saw a change of government in Malaysia. The Pakatan Harapan coalition swept...
Crowdsourcing Terror in Indonesia
(Originally published in East Asia Forum)
In the wake of high-profile terrorist activities in Indonesia, social media’s role in violent extremism is once again under scrutiny....
Popular News
Global Recovery from the Pandemic Creates a Surge in Palm Oil...
By Dupito D. Simamora
As the world recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, the palm oil industry, together with other commodity-producing industries, is experiencing a pleasant...
