Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has decided to stake everything on her popularity by dissolving the House of Representatives, the country’s lower house, and calling snap elections for 8 February. Key takeaways: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the lower house on 23 January, with elections set for 8 February, betting that her personal popularity will… Continue reading As Japanese PM dissolves parliament, will she face an electoral struggle or steamroll the opposition?
Myanmar’s junta is staging elections amid an ongoing civil war not to restore democracy but to manufacture legitimacy. The vote is designed to entrench military rule and provide international cover for continued violence. Key takeaways: The sham elections are an attempt to legitimize military rule. International actors should side with the public’s continued rejection of… Continue reading Staging legitimacy: Why the world should ignore Myanmar’s sham elections
Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has broken a barrier that stood for centuries — but her victory signals continuity more than change. A conservative shaped by Shinzo Abe’s legacy, she inherits a fractured political landscape and a public exhausted by corruption and stagnation. Her rise is historic, yet her agenda suggests Japan is… Continue reading A woman takes power in Japan for the first time in history. Is there really reason to celebrate?
Ethnic Armed Organizations remain enduring political actors in Myanmar, consistently exploiting moments of central state weakness to advance their autonomy goals. Key takeaways: Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) have played a central role in resisting the junta since the 2021 coup. The history of Myanmar’s conflicts demonstrates that ethnic resistance movements have consistently leveraged moments of… Continue reading Recognizing ethnic agency in Myanmar: From CIA operations to the Spring Revolution
Key takeaways: The repatriation program lacks fundamental guarantees for Rohingya safety, citizenship, and property rights. The initiative coincides with the junta’s need for international legitimacy amid ongoing sanctions. Similar previous programs in 2018 and 2019 failed to produce meaningful results, and the current conditions in Rakhine State remain hostile to Rohingya return. A crisis unresolved… Continue reading Myanmar junta’s Rohingya Return Initiative is nothing more than a strategic pretense
