The media frenzy blaming Joe Biden for the collapse of Afghanistan’s central government in August of 2021 puzzled me, as did repeated insinuations that the U.S. could have evacuated all Afghanis with pro-American sympathies or […]
As is known, the current illiberal or authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia impose various barriers that restrict (and sometimes forbid) research and fieldwork on social movements in the region. As young researchers, we find that […]
On 11 January 2022, the Thai government and the Barisan Revolusi Nacional (BRN) concluded their first face-to-face meeting in two years since the start of the pandemic. The talks are aimed at settling an ethnopolitical […]
In this article, I assess the social situation of kathoeis (Thai transgender women), critiquing the development of society’s perspectives that reflect the stigmatization and discrimination that kathoeis face. Based on this critique, I make recommendations […]
Brazil is increasingly becoming one of Southeast Asia’s major partners in foreign trade. According to official figures for the first semester of 2021, Brazilian exports to Singapore now surpass those to Germany. Malaysia is more […]
“There are military coups, but there are also military governments and political parties which have come out of the womb of the army.” As Thailand approaches the end of 2021, its limited democracy, manipulated by […]
Prior to the end of the Cold War, the Southeast Asian region underwent different political crises, revolutions, and uprisings. Some of them were anti-colonial movements while others were anti-dictator movements. The most notable uprisings in […]
The contention between protesters and the monarchy that has unfolded in Thailand since early 2020 looks like being a David and Goliath contest. While the protesters are mostly high school and university students who demand […]
The typical puzzle for most Southeast Asian countries now is restarting the economy while living safely with COVID-19. The experience of 2020’s success story, such as Vietnam, shows that the victory in containing several first […]
There is an emergent digital culture in the art and cultural sector in Hanoi, Vietnam, which is producing a shift in the nature of work for cultural professionals, the way of preserving and displaying art […]
Since the coup on 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military has been facing the constant and ferocious resistance from the civilians. The members of parliament who have been ousted have formed the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu […]
“ASEAN Centrality” is the rallying cry of those in Southeast Asia who wish to portray themselves as having agency; that is, that they are in control of their own affairs. One can be forgiven for […]
Over the past fifteen years, politics have stagnated and democracy has faltered in Southeast Asia. The region has gone from a bellwether of global democratization, with countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines […]
The year 2020 marked the 10th anniversary of the passage of “the Regulation of the Prime Minister Office in the Issuance of Community Land Title Deeds” by the cabinet of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Subsequently, […]
Violence continues in Papua—and its regions. Papua is 421,981 KM2 (3.5 times bigger than Java), with its topography covering mountainous areas and most of the land swamps in coastal areas. When we mention the word […]
The pandemic has thrown the world into turmoil affecting all aspects of one’s life. From economy, politics, to education, it has brought challenges and as well as new perspectives, compelling all sectors to adapt to […]
Japan’s foreign policy in Asia is not driven by a values-oriented diplomacy. Overall, Tokyo downplays human rights and democratic values in favor of maintaining trade ties and securing geo-strategic advantage. It is thus a values-free […]
Prior to 2018, Malaysian politics were marked by regime and political stasis. Ruling coalitions headed by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party dominated politics in the country for an unbroken 61 years, making it […]
Myanmar’s abounding despair gave way to euphoria when the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, won a landslide victory in the 2015 general elections. Another landslide in 2020 suggested […]
To sever the conundrums of a decentered regional literature speculated around and astride the national sympathies of culture bearers stemming from the notional question that pushes literature as literatures, or literatures as but a primal […]
The question of China’s rise has received a great deal of policy and academic attention. The growing interest on this issue is understandably concerned with both Beijing’s economic success, its ability to expand internationally, and […]
“The first of these is the challenge of establishing a united Malaysian nation with a sense of common and shared destiny. This must be a nation at peace with itself, territorially, and ethnically integrated, living […]
In the past few years, many countries around the world have put priority on the tourism sector, and increasingly the term ‘Halal tourism’ had become more commonplace. According to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), […]
Since 2004, the Thai government has implemented security laws in regards to Thailand’s Deep South. These comprised of Martial Law, the 1914 The Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations, 2005, and the Internal […]
The image of Indonesia as an agrarian nation, a modern country whose agricultural roots should not be forgotten, remains popular in Indonesian political discourses. Cliché as it may be, Indonesian politicians embrace this notion – […]
My journey into Thailand’s deep south began in late 2005 with a minivan journey from the southern Thai city of Hat Yai to Pattani. I was living in Malaysia at that time, and about to […]
This paper presents a “trimmed” version of the “Media Co-optation Toolbox” crafted by Freedom House to explain how President Rodrigo Duterte has kept Philippine mainstream media organizations in check by employing economic/legal and extra-legal and […]
“The big thing that we know from John Stuart Mill is that democracy is government by discussion, and, if you make discussion fearful, you are not going to get a democracy, no matter how you […]
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