Making Hun Sen’s youngest son a deputy prime minister adds gravitas to the role at a time of thorny changes. It looks like Hun Many, the younger brother of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, wants more attention. Last August, his brother inherited the prime ministership from their father Hun Sen, who had been in the… Continue reading Cambodia’s Hun Many is no mere spare for his PM brother
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
The country’s government views the press as an adjunct of power. There’s a polite warning about throwing stones in glass houses. There’s a more impolite instruction to know the extent of one’s own ignorance. In perusing the Phnom Penh Post’s recent piece (“PM calls for ‘ethical fourth estate’,” January 23), one is compelled to scrutinize what emanated… Continue reading Aren’t Cambodia’s Journalists Tired Of Being Spoken Down To?
January 13th was a celebration of democracy in Taiwan. The small island country, which emerged in the 1990s from authoritarian rule (having experienced one of the longest periods of martial law in the world), held joint presidential and parliamentary elections. The current ruling party maintained the presidency; however, the new president will face a hung… Continue reading Taiwan Elections 2024 Explained: What to Expect?
Last November, adding further suspense to Taiwan’s gripping election campaigns, presidential candidates presented their running mates and registered as pairs with the national election authorities. The presidential candidates based their choices on very different considerations. Presidential front-runner Lai Ching-te (賴清德), from the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was the first to reveal what many had… Continue reading Balancing and partnering – Why we should pay attention to Taiwan’s vice-presidential candidates
