Although the Visegrad Group (V4) as an intergovernmental platform of Central European countries has the potential for effective dialogue with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), given the current political divisions inside of the V4, fragmented diplomatic activities of Central European countries in Southeast Asia prevail for the time being. The EU and ASEAN… Continue reading Central European–Southeast Asian Cooperation: Promises and Pitfalls
The nations of the region are all experiencing shrinking workforces and rising life expectancy – in some cases at the same time. In October, The Economist ran an article with the headline, “Poor Asian countries face an aging crisis.” A regular reader of the region’s newspapers will probably get a sense of a looming demographic problem when… Continue reading What Do We Mean When We Talk About Southeast Asia’s Demographics ‘Crisis’?
In September 2021, the European Union (EU) released its very first Indo-Pacific strategy. While its assessment of the current geostrategic and geo-economic challenges is highly accurate (notably if read together with the EU’s 2019 China strategy), the Indo-Pacific strategy has been criticised for lacking specific means of implementation. Since then, the EU has been promoting… Continue reading Global Gateway Initiative: Infrastructure Cooperation With Souhteast Asia
Indonesia has pursued a pragmatic foreign policy for the past decade, but could that change after the presidential elections in February? The three candidates offer disparate diplomatic styles. Because Joko Widodo, the current president of Indonesia, cannot seek reelection due to term limits, the presidential elections on February 14 the race is between Anies Baswedan,… Continue reading Prospects for Indonesian Diplomatic Style Under a New President in the Post-Jokowi Era
Expectations that the Southeast Asian bloc could have been effective were misplaced. Lurking within the cacophony of condemnations of ASEAN’s “handling” of the crisis in Myanmar, of its utter failure to move the military junta an inch towards compromise or retreat, is a lament that here was a chance for the bloc to prove its… Continue reading ASEAN should admit defeat over Myanmar
