Showing 1 - 10 of 57
The case of the disappearing senior generals
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 10/02/2026
» Armies can be used against both against foreigners abroad and against citizens at home, but the two roles require quite different equipment and tactics. The same applies to their commanders: you need a different kind of general if you think that the primary task of their troops will be controlling dissent at home.
Here's to all the useful ghosts of our history
Oped, Kong Rithdee, Published on 28/08/2025
» Ghosts are useful because they remind us of the unresolved, the unsettled, the unfinished -- in life, love, politics, or history. The film of the moment hitches onto that idea and takes it far, as far as the Cannes Film Festival, and now it has been picked as Thailand's representative for the Oscars.
Rethinking what it means to be human
News, Peerasit Kamnuansilpa, Published on 05/07/2025
» In the decades ahead, Thailand will not collapse in a blaze of war, disease, or climate catastrophe. Rather, it will quietly wither from within. The twin forces of demographic decline and digital automation are converging with astonishing speed, and yet our political and moral imaginations remain unprepared.
Burma on the brink of ousting the military?
News, Published on 27/02/2025
» If the Burmese drive General Min Aung Hlaing and his brutal military regime from power, as they seem about to do, the first thing they should do afterwards is take a leaf from Costa Rica's book and abolish the army. Don't reform it or downsize it; just get rid of it forever.
Has Iran finally reached the end of the line?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 02/01/2025
» Six months ago, at the end of Iran's presidential election, I finished an article by speculating that the long-lived theocratic dictatorship in Iran may be a lot closer to its end than its beginning: "If you can plausibly say "This cannot go on forever", you are also saying "Some day this will come to an end'."
Libya's unending crisis shows need to be prepared
Oped, John J Metzler, Published on 29/08/2024
» Who remembers Libya? Who recalls how the US became embroiled in this civil war only then to quickly lose interest? But sadly Americans vividly remember Benghazi and the horrible loss of a US consulate, the death of a respected US diplomat, killing of three security personnel and the throwing of the American flag into the pyres of a failed policy.
World oblivious to risk of all-out war in Africa
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 02/05/2024
» 'We could see an all-out war between all the tribes and that is really the doomsday scenario. At this point, it's not unrealistic," the head of an international non-government organisation that is working in Sudan told the Al Jazeera news agency last week. (She asked them to withhold her name to protect her in-country team in North Darfur.)
UN condemns Iran's treatment of girls, women
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 15/03/2024
» The Iranian regime has been firmly condemned by a UN fact-finding mission investigating the unprovoked killing of Mahsa Amini two years ago, in an incident that set off nationwide protests. Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old student, according to a UN fact-finding mission, died in police custody after violating the Islamic Republic's strict "morality rules" requiring women to wear the headscarf.
Myanmar revolts against dictatorship
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 02/02/2024
» When Myanmar's military coup took place three years ago, few thought it would turn out this way. Never has a military in Southeast Asia staged a successful coup and then failed to consolidate power afterwards. Yet this is precisely what's happening in Myanmar. A fierce and determined coalition of resistance forces is in the process of prevailing over Myanmar's battle-hardened army.
The Israel-Gaza crisis: A question of numbers
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 08/11/2023
» Being the heritage minister is not the summit of achievement in Israeli politics, but it is a cabinet position, and Amihai Eliyahu, the current occupant, really should watch what he says. When Radio Kol Berama asked him whether an atomic bomb should be dropped on Gaza, he should not have replied "This is one of the possibilities."