Harini Amarasuriya: An Academician Rises to Sri Lanka’s Premiership
In a country that once made history by electing the world’s first woman prime minister but today ranks at the bottom for women’s political representation, Harini Amarasuriya’s appointment as Sri...
View ArticleFeminism and Geopolitics in the Asia-Pacific
The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the recent Asia Pacific Feminist Forum in Chiang Mai, Thailand. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you...
View ArticleVietnam’s To Lam Set to Meet With President Biden
To Lam, Vietnam’s president and the head of its ruling communist party, will today meet with U.S. President Joe Biden in New York. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the United Nations...
View ArticleCan India Create Its Own ‘Singapore’?
At the beginning of September, during a meeting with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India wanted to create “‘several Singapores” of its own. What...
View ArticleMyanmar Military Calls on Opponents to Enter Political Dialogue
Myanmar’s military has issued a public call for its opponents to put down their weapons and return to the political fold in order to end the country’s conflict, the first such outreach since its coup...
View ArticleLaos and Cambodia Don’t Include Scam Industries in Their GDP Data. Should They?
In 1987, Italy decided that it would include the proceeds from criminal activity in its national accounts. Overnight, its economy grew by 18 percent, allowing Italy to surpass Britain to become the...
View ArticleThailand’s King Endorses Marriage Equality Bill
Scenes of celebration took place on the streets of Bangkok yesterday after the royal endorsement of the country’s marriage equality law, paving the way for the full legalization same-sex marriage early...
View ArticleLatin America and the China-US Space Race
China has consolidated its presence in Latin America in the outer space sector. China is the main partner in the space sector for numerous countries in the region, including Bolivia, Brazil, Nicaragua,...
View ArticleSingapore Navy Commissions First Two Invincible-Class Submarines
On Tuesday, Singapore commissioned the first two of its four German-built Invincible-class diesel-electric submarines, marking a significant milestone in the long-planned upgrade of its submarine...
View ArticleGetting to Know Prabowo
Ernest May, the renowned Harvard historian, believed that truly understanding political figures requires looking beyond their public personas and examining the formative experiences and inner...
View ArticleTempering Expectations of an India-China ‘Reset’
India’s Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar’s announcement that roughly 75 percent of India’s “disengagement problems” with China had been resolved has led to optimism about a possible “thaw” in...
View ArticleTourists and Diplomats Come Back to North Korea: A Chance for Renewed Engagement
According to the Koryo Tours’ website, it is now possible to book a tour of North Korea scheduled to leave this November. The re-opening of (part) of the country to tourism can be interpreted as an...
View ArticleWill BJP’s Ploy to Let ‘Engineer Rashid’ Campaign in Kashmir Elections Work?
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)’s ongoing assembly elections are drawing to a close. On October 1, voters in 16 constituencies in the Kashmir valley and 24 constituencies in the Jammu region will exercise...
View ArticleGrowing Bilateral Relations Between Mongolia and Turkey
This year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Mongolia and the Republic of Turkey. Despite over five decades of diplomatic relations – and the thousands of years...
View ArticleJapan’s Official Development Assistance and the National Interest
October marks the 70th anniversary of Japan joining the Colombo Plan, under which Japan began assistance – initially technical cooperation – to other countries in Asia. The basic policy for Japan’s...
View ArticlePhilippines Opens Candidate Registration Period for Mid-term Elections
Candidate registrations opened today in the Philippines for the country’s midterm elections next year, which are expected to see a showdown between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his predecessor...
View ArticleThe Political Economy of Cinema in Thailand
Thailand’s economy is built around exports. The country is a leading regional exporter when it comes to cars, rice, and manufactured goods, as well as services like tourism. One export we probably...
View ArticleThe Arrest of Mech Dara (Part I): Repression and Retaliation
Mech Dara, one of Cambodia’s last remaining independent journalists, was arrested yesterday outside the crime hub of Sihanoukville where so much of his reporting was focused in recent years. The arrest...
View ArticleOver 3 Decades Into Independence, Property Protections in Kazakhstan Remain Weak
ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN — Back in 2013, Bakhyt Nurmuhambetova, a businesswoman from Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, believed that she was investing in something akin to the Kazakh Dream. Not only was she...
View ArticleChina’s Market Frenzy: Will the Euphoria Last or Fade Fast?
China’s stock market is undergoing a resurgence of historic magnitude, driven by an unprecedented series of policy shifts that have injected new vitality into an economy that had long seemed stagnant....
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