COVID-19: Freedoms under Assault
I read an article printed in the Jakarta Post: "Politics of pandemics. How online ‘buzzers’ infect Indonesia’s democracy, jeopardize its citizens".
The article basically takes the...
Indonesia After Jokowi’s Victory
With the final results out of the Indonesian presidential elections, incumbent President Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, has won a sizable victory over challenger Prabowo...
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...
Young People Everywhere Need to Know Trumpism is the Antithesis of Leadership
By Fred Utanes
I would like to voice my condemnation of the worst ideology that the world has known, which emerged more than five years...
Climate Change: Will Indonesia Be Just a Bystander or a Leader?
By Dino Patti Djalal
In the midst of the Covid-19 storm that continues to engulf the world, we must be careful not to lose sight...
Medan Wise
English Premier League soccer legend Dennis Wise visited Medan recently and I was fortunate enough to host him during his stay.
For those of you...
Big Questions in Australia-Indonesia Relations
The Australian-Indonesian free trade agreement is set to be big business. With a finalised report not expected until October at the latest, the details...
Enough! Of this Nonsense
I have been speaking with many friends around Indonesia and asking them how the situation is in their city, their district, in their kampungs. ...
A Day in the Life of an Ordinary Indonesian Diplomat
By Ricky Ihsan
As a diplomat, I am in many ways no different from other civil servants. Because I am a Muslim, I wake up...
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...
Will China Invade Taiwan Any Time Soon? And Will Joe Biden just allow that...
By Regina Marthalia
The People’s Republic of China has been threatening to invade Taiwan for seven decades now. Today the fear is growing among analysts,...
The State of Global Democracy Today is Even Worse Than It Looks
It has become accepted, among most experts on democracy, and among policymakers, that democracy worldwide is in increasing peril. This year’s Freedom in the...
Let’s not lose sight of true victory
The momentous events of 9 May 2018 will be etched in the annals of history as one of those “where were you when it...
Australia, China, Vanuatu and an “Elephant in the Room”
When Dr. Hassan Wirajuda was Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia and he was negotiating the Lombok Treaty on security with Australia in 2005,...
Indonesia Faces a Huawei Quandary As US-China Rivalry Keeps Simmering
By Muhammad Jasuma Fadholi
The dynamics of the relationship between the two world powers, the United States and China, in the months ahead will be...
Popular News
The Myanmar Coup Is a Naked Grab For Power, but the...
By Rizal G. Buendia
Similar to practically all Southeast Asian countries, Myanmar (also known as Burma) experienced decades of authoritarian or semi-authoritarian rule as well...
