Asia
Philippines
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China’s Maritime DisputesDisputes over overlapping exclusive economic zones in the South China Sea have intensified in recent decades, while the territorial row over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea dates back to the nineteenth century.
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Maria Ressa’s Verdict: A Capstone for the Collapse of Press Freedom in Southeast AsiaYesterday (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 of Time’s people of the year in 2018 and featured …
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Rodrigo Duterte Goes Even Farther in Using COVID-19 to Crack DownIn 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 civil society and undermine oppo…
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Trash Trade Wars: Southeast Asia’s Problem With the World’s WasteChina’s decision to ban most trash imports has left waste-exporting countries in the lurch and Southeast Asian landfills overflowing.
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Philippines: Rodrigo Duterte’s ResponseDuterte, like other illiberal populists, has fumbled his initial handling of the pandemic. The fallout could damage his popularity and legacy.
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Duterte Terminates the Visiting Forces Agreement … or Does He?Last week, after hinting at it for some time, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte officially announced he would terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States. Under the agreem…
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Can Democracy’s Breakdown in Asia be Stopped?It has become, at this point, almost a trope to conclude that global democracy is increasingly imperiled, but there is considerable evidence backing this theory. In response to the global threats to …
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The Implications of Duterte’s Midterm VictoryAlthough in his first three years in office President Rodrigo Duterte has proven divisive internationally, this week’s midterm elections show that he retains enormous power over Philippine politics. …
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The Road Not Taken
In chronicling the adventurous life of legendary CIA operative Edward Lansdale, The Road Not Taken definitively reframes our understanding of the Vietnam War. -
Populism Might Not Be EbbingIn early 2018, I wrote a short article for the Washington Post, arguing that the global populism wave would likely continue sweeping through countries that year—despite the fact that, at least in par…
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Rodrigo Duterte: Fire and Fury in the Philippines: A ReviewIn the months before Brazil’s elections in October 2018, many experts both within and outside the country dismissed the possibility that Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain and previously obscure f…
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Southeast Asia Recap 2018: Democracy Continues to SufferIn addition to regression on the issue of press freedom, Southeast Asia witnessed backsliding on rights and freedoms in many other areas in 2018, with Malaysia as a notable exception to this trend. …
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2018 in Review: Press Freedom Under Assault in Southeast Asia—Maria Ressa and More2018 was a brutal year, in many ways, for civil society activists, rights advocates, and democratic politicians throughout Southeast Asia. Cambodia’s government transformed from an autocratic regime …
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Investing in Equality: How the Private Sector Benefits From Women’s Financial InclusionToday, close to one billion women worldwide are unbanked, which offers a significant market opportunity for financial service providers. Salie Mlay, Dr. Tosan Oruwariye, and Dr. Dolores Torres join u…
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Southeast Asia’s Populism: On the Rise, But Different From Populism in Other RegionsWhile populism is sweeping through Europe and parts of the Americas it is also making gains in Southeast Asia. The region’s autocrat-leaning populists—those who have already ruled and those who are a…
