Showing 21 - 30 of 2,326
Oped, Published on 31/08/2024
» Six months ago, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's grip on power in Bangladesh appeared unbreakable. The ruling Awami League had just won a fourth term in an uncontested election, allowing it to stay in full control of the country's institutions. With journalists, human rights defenders, opposition members, and other critics facing politically motivated prosecution, prison, exile, and forced disappearance, a continued descent into authoritarianism seemed certain.
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 30/08/2024
» Hindsight is likely to place Srettha Thavisin in Thai political annals as a prime minister who tried his best but ultimately succumbed to forces way beyond his control. While his nearly 12-month tenure in office came up short on policy deliverables, it nevertheless reset Thailand's foreign policy projection on Myanmar amid more omnidirectional relations with the major powers.
News, Published on 28/08/2024
» Politics is increasingly returning to being a family business in Southeast Asia, despite its large and vibrant democracies. It's a worrying trend. Power is at risk of being concentrated in the hands of an exclusive club of entrenched clans. That will disproportionately disadvantage the region's dynamic youth who are getting more frustrated with nepotism.
Oped, Geoff Mulgan, Published on 28/08/2024
» Hardly a week goes by without a new piece of misinformation circulating online, from the freshet of conspiracy theories unleashed by the attempt on former US president Donald Trump's life to Elon Musk tweeting the far right's false claim that the United Kingdom has a two-tier policing policy. Truth is under attack, and people know it. According to a recent global survey conducted by the United Nations, more than 85% of respondents were worried about the impact of online disinformation.
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 23/08/2024
» The rise of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and the return -- and re-entry, of her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, have turned Thai politics upside down. On the surface, Mr Thaksin still dominates Thai politics nearly 20 years after he was deposed by a military coup and exiled for most of that period. This time, his political power and influence are being exercised through his daughter Ms Paetongtarn. As the Shinawatra clan has been coopted by its former establishment adversaries, the past two decades of periodic elections, street protests, two military coups, two constitutions, and multiple judicial bans on political parties and elected politicians have entered a new chapter.
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 22/08/2024
» 'I consult with my father on all issues, whether on private matters or about work, and have done since I was young," said Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand's new and youngest prime minister at 38 years of age. She is the third member of the Shinawatra family to hold this office, and part of the "evil cycle" that has paralysed the country's politics for the past 18 years.
News, Jan-Werner Mueller, Published on 22/08/2024
» Think back to late June and early July. The French far right was favoured to win a snap parliamentary election. Trumpist judges in the United States were conveniently resolving the legal woes of the former president, who seemed to be gliding to victory after President Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance. And while Britain was getting a Labour government, a new anti-immigration party led by the chief Brexiteer, Nigel Farage, had made unprecedented gains. Faced with it all, pundits warned that a wave of populist, "anti-incumbency" rage was sweeping across the world's democracies.
Oped, Postbag, Published on 21/08/2024
» Re: "I will make every inch of Thailand fit ... ", (InQuote, Aug 19).
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 20/08/2024
» While leaders come and go, they leave behind a legacy that can be mixed, varying from glory to ignominy. Only a few leave nothing much to remember. As for Thailand's 30th prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, it was cursory at best. Overall, it's a good case study on how pomposity and self-adulation affect leadership.