The international surge in investments, and political opportunism, are doing little to help Myanmar’s already weak civil society evolve in the interest of all. JONATHAN BOGAIS reports. In 1941, US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis (1856–1941) wrote: ‘We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth and power concentrated in […]
Early signs are mixed that India’s new prime minister, Narendra Modi, can deliver on his promise to create a genuinely inclusive sense of nationhood. Why are many people in India apprehensive about the country’s new government? The Bharatiya Janata Party won 282 seats in the 543-seat lower house, and with its allies, it won close […]
With backing from powerful friends, Sri Lanka remains immune to international concern over its human rights record. Damien Kingsbury reports. A certain predictability has developed in the public exchange on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. In keeping with this predictability, the recent UN Human Rights Commission report on Sri Lanka’s continuing serious human […]
The recent ousting of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra reflects a judiciary that has become politically interventionist and remarkably powerful, writes KEVIN HEWISON. In May 2014, a series of rapid-fire events saw Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra disqualified by the Constitutional Court, the military declare martial law and then, on 22 May, the Army commander declared […]
Malaysia’s economic reforms are under question, writes GREG LOPEZ. The term ’middle-income trap’ possibly first entered Malaysia’s official policy lexicon when Premier Najib Razak (pictured below) referred to it as Malaysia’s greatest development challenge. He noted: We have become a successful middle-income economy. But we cannot and will not be caught in the middle income […]
The rift between the Gülen movement and Turkey’s ruling party is widening, says DAVID TITTENSOR. The Gülen movement, which its 72-year-old founder, retired imam Fethullah Gülen (pictured), denies is even a movement, is both political and not political—that is, it is not a political party and, to date, appears to have no intention of making […]
