Showing 1 - 10 of 496
Indonesian democracy on brink
Oped, Published on 11/09/2025
» Less than 11 months into his term, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto faces a stark choice. He can be remembered either as a leader whose presidency was defined by public anger and discontent, or as one who recognised the challenges facing his country and acted in the national interest.
PM's crisis and Thai political directions
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 27/06/2025
» What began just a month ago as a minor border dispute with Cambodia has spiralled into an existential political crisis in Thailand. In what she understood to be a private phone conversation with Cambodia's former prime minister and Senate President, Hun Sen, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra compromised her premiership and undermined Thai national interests. While she tries to ride out the storm, her tenure appears wobbly and unworkable. What comes next will likely proceed in one of three directions revolving around the Thai parliamentary processes, each with its own scenarios and considerations.
Pro-Trump nationalist wins Poland’s presidential election
Published on 02/06/2025
» A nationalist candidate backed by Donald Trump secured victory in Poland’s presidential election, defeating the centrist mayor of Warsaw in a contest that could stymie the government’s efforts to shift the nation back into the European Union mainstream.
Maduro party eyes big win as Venezuela opposition boycotts vote
AFP, Published on 26/05/2025
» CARACAS - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's party was eyeing a landslide victory in legislative and regional elections Sunday, after a wave of arrests of opposition members who called for a massive boycott of the vote.
In Singapore’s election, a blow to the fledgling opposition
Published on 04/05/2025
» SINGAPORE — The last time Singapore held elections, it was in the throes of a global crisis. That’s also true today.
Voices of change
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 31/03/2025
» What if a media crew goes to great lengths to construct rather than record an event? With this question at heart, Asst Prof Viroj Suttisima, a lecturer at Bangkok University's Faculty of Communication Arts, illuminates the dark side of media ethics in his short story The Last Night Of A Documentary Filmmaker -- winner of the Phan Waen Fah Award in 2024.
Smart geopolitics starts on home front
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 21/02/2025
» According to a longstanding axiom, all politics is local. If so, then smart and crafty geopolitics must start at home with sufficient domestic political stability and consensus about how the country should navigate what is increasingly a turbulent geostrategic chessboard. Put this way, few countries can appreciate the intersection of geopolitics and domestic politics more than Thailand. Its rocky and volatile home front over the past two decades continues to impede and constrain its geostrategic projection.
Nicaragua legislature cements 'absolute power' of president.. and wife
AFP, Published on 31/01/2025
» SAN JOSé — Nicaraguan strongman Daniel Ortega and his wife were granted control of all state powers Thursday under a constitutional amendment ratified by the country's legislature that also elevated her to the position of "co-president."
Singapore takes first key step toward holding 2025 election
Bloomberg News, Published on 22/01/2025
» Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Wednesday that he has convened a committee to review electoral boundaries, in a sign that the government may call for an early national vote in the Southeast Asian city-state.
Thaksin's return and 2025 prospects
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/01/2025
» Thailand's political environment last year was marked by machinations to keep the biggest election winner, the Move Forward Party, from power and to ensure the runner-up, the Pheu Thai Party, leads a coalition government the old guard can put up with. These manoeuvres after the May 2023 poll, initially forced Move Forward into the opposition and ultimately dissolved the party while bringing Thaksin Shinawatra back from self-exile in August 2023 for a perfunctory jail sentence and installing Srettha Thavisin as prime minister over the same period.