Media
A storm of bullets, a wave of apathy
Duterte is gaining in the war on drugs, but at a terrifying cost to Filipino society. The Philippines is drowning in a wave of killings as the government of the newly-proclaimed President Rodrigo...
Thai Politics: Between democracy and its discontents
After two coups, a decade of political strife and this week’s referendum vote in favour of further military involvement in government, Thai politics deserves serious analysis, grounded in facts and...
How the press can power Myanmar’s democracy
As a voracious consumer of Myanmar journalism over some time, I am fascinated by how the country’s transition to freedom of the press takes root and prospers. Progress toward press freedom has...
Cashing in
Jokowi’s second reshuffle is a win for the president’s loyalists and financiers. Political campaign financing in contemporary Indonesia is neither transparent nor accountable. State subsidisation of...
Navigating China’s archives
Restricted access to the Chinese Foreign Ministry archive is a great loss for China scholars. This June I published my first book, China–Japan Relations after World War Two: Empire, Industry and War...
Martyrs’ Day a wake-up call
For the first time, it was held under a National League for Democracy-backed government. After several decades of absence, it was also the first time the commander-in-chief attended. And, for the...
Social cohesion and scandal cycles in Malaysia
Mahathir on the divisions tearing a country, the opposition and politics apart. “I’m afraid the whole thing revolves around Najib,” former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said last month...
Revisiting country risk for Myanmar
**Will it be boom or bust for companies investing in a newly democratic Myanmar? ** After Myanmar’s 2015 elections, the international credit rating agency, Moody’s, initially issued a very positive...
Myanmar’s 2016 batch of babies
In 2016, around a million babies will be born in Myanmar. Too often we forget the prospects and possibilities of these new lives, instead focusing almost all our attention on those who have already...
Keeping friends close, Thailand closer
It says something profound about the region that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s first international trips as state counsellor and foreign minister have required photo ops with Southeast Asian dictators....
