Rodrigo Duterte can no longer perform the strongman persona that supposedly generated his appeal, yet the political loyalty towards him has only intensified. “Charisma” can’t
Tag: South East Asia
Ahead of the 115th International Women’s Day, Perempuan Mahardhika [1] and Amnesty International Indonesia held a public discussion on 24 February 2026 in Jakarta, entitled “Resisting
Despite the widely-covered crackdown on LGBT life since 2016, Indonesian official homophobia is not monolithic. One homophobia aims to eradicate ‘deviant’ sexualities, but another paternalistically
From Himal Southasian Ground reporting of the 2025-26 election reveals that voters only hope for a slight lifting of the military’s boot in a race
The relationship between feminist movements and lesbian and trans activists in Indonesia reveals fundamental tensions about what feminism means in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.
As governments across East and Southeast Asia tighten restrictions on activism and association, civic space is rapidly shrinking. Leah Lin, founder of the Asia Citizen
From Inside Indonesia This special issue of Inside Indonesia commemorates the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the 1965–1966 genocide, when an estimated half a
The denial of the genocide which took place in Indonesia after 1 October 1965 has cultural, legal, discursive and affective dimensions. This genocide was one
In late August, demonstrations against housing allowances for national parliamentarians escalated dramatically when a motorcycle delivery driver, Affan Kurniawan, caught up in the protests, was
The post-coup conflict has repeatedly confounded bold predictions of both swift regime collapse and decisive opposition victory. For now, the grinding reality points less to
August’s anti-government protests highlight the growth of a subculture of street protest that echoes the anti-Suharto activism of the 1990s. In opposing the new form
Indonesia is experiencing a serious wave of protests, which began on August 28, 2025, and have placed dramatic pressure on President Prabowo Subianto’s government. The
How Thailand and China solved their nation-building dilemma Henry Rory O’Connor: Who is the Chinese population of Thailand? What does the rest of the country’s
Funding both sides of a civil war and demonising refugees? Truly, China is a great power. “Our side is like heaven. Over there… I won’t
In Myanmar — where over four years of fighting since the 2021 coup has killed at least 80,000 people — aerial warfare has been crucial
What can we learn from a decade of protest in Asia? Hong Kong, Thailand, Burma, and Taiwan—all are linked by their shared appreciation of milk
Myanmar has been embroiled in a complex civil war since the military coup in February 2021. This has exacerbated long-standing ethnic conflicts, including those involving
In 2020, an unlikely coalition of activists formed online. It brought together protest movements in Hong Kong and Thailand and, before long, fanned out across
Though often declared dead, the discourse around ‘Asian values’ has had many lives. Authoritarian regimes have deployed culturalist arguments against liberal democracy since the 1990s,
The region’s close political and economic links to Beijing loom large in explanations of why it remains in the democratic doldrums. But overemphasis on the
The Indonesia of Prabowo Subianto navigates international pressures and national ambitions, balancing Chinese control over nickel, tensions in the South China Sea and the return
The Arakan state is a region of breathtaking landscapes and ancient kingdoms, but has become synonymous with one of the world’s most protracted and brutal
In late March, tens of thousands of students in Indonesia took to the streets to protest against the controversial army law reform. Critics say President
On 28 March, in downtown Jakarta, across from the Sarinah department store, an unlikely group of protesters gathered holding signs and making speeches. The crowd
The Indonesian government passed proposed revisions to the Armed Forces Law (UU TNI) on 20 March 2025. The revisions to the law have caused outcry
PSAN: After October 7, 2023, Palestine became a divisive issue within Burma’s revolutionary circles. In this context, how does your organization respond to these layers
From The Diplomat The Indonesian leader claims to support democracy, but only in terms of a stifling notion of national “unity.” Waves of mass protests
Honorifics, nicknames and pseudonyms for prominent Myanmar figures have been a mainstay of Myanmar public life, with the subtleties of their use often lost on
From Naypyidaw to Tatmadaw, how various political actors are referred to is more politically loaded than many journalists, and some scholars, recognise. Andrew Selth reflects
Thousands of Indonesian students across the country are taking to the streets protesting the current Prabowo administration. This comes as the controversial former military general
From Himal Southasian Refugees from the war in Myanmar live in fear of harassment, imprisonment and deportation in the border areas of Northeast India and
General Ne Win’s Legacy of Burmanization in Myanmar: The Challenge to Peace in the Twenty-First CenturyBy Saw Eh Htoo and Tony WatersPalgrave Macmillan, 2024, 225
Western media outlets’ resort to the cliché of Myanmar as a “forgotten” country is not only self-incriminating—it risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy as the resistance
From The Diplomat Coming nearly three years after the military coup d’état of February 1, 2021, “Operation 1027” marks a defining moment in Myanmar’s revolution.
From The Diplomat Editor’s Note: This is the first article in a three-part series about Myanmar’s escalating political crisis. The first part will offer an
Five hours before the opening of the West Papuan waria beauty pageant, the salon of the Sorong community elders was busy with preparations. Among 10
Indonesians’ present-day notions of beauty are embedded in a long and complex relationship between skin colour and race Go to any mall in Indonesia and