Count on Politics Interfering with the Indian Census
Indian governments spend enormous resources to collect data — including 12 billion and 22 billion rupees on decennial censuses in 2001 and 2011, respectively. Yet they appear reluctant to release it. The latest decennial census data on religion, for example,...
The Pope will Visit the U.S. and Unnerve Both Political Parties
During Pope Francis’ visit to the United States next week, he will insist that the church transcends partisan politics, and I am sure he means this sincerely. However, that will not prevent his visit from having political ramifications. During Pope...
U.S. Candidates Ratchet Up the Hyperbole ahead of Xi Visit
Another year of presidential campaigns, another round of China bashing. In the wake of China’s stock market crash in August 2015, Republican presidential candidates have turned their attention towards China. Citing China’s ‘active manipulation’ of its economy as contributing to...
Japan PM Abe’s Political Future Appears Certain
In December 2014, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) returned to government after a snap election. At that time, Abe positioned himself to continue as prime minister for another four years until the end of 2018, giving...
Jakarta-centric Guidelines are a Drag on Papua Development
In order to improve the effectiveness of development strategies in Indonesia’s Papua province, trust between the central government in Jakarta and the Papua provincial government in Jayapura needs strengthening. The PNPM-RESPEK initiative is a case in point. In order to...
China President Xi’s Pledge to Fight Corruption Gains Traction
On 11 June 2015, Zhou Yongkang was found guilty of corruption, among other things, and sentenced to life imprisonment. He appeared before a national broadcast to listen to his guilty verdict, express his responsibility in doing harm to the country...
Diplomatically Stuck in the Middle
Leadership is one of those things about which it is sometimes wise to be careful what you wish for. Leadership is one of those things about which it is sometimes wise to be careful what you wish for. In the...
The Carefully Timed U.S. Visit by Vietnam’s Nguyen Phu Trong
The 7 July visit to the White House by Vietnam’s Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong signaled just how far the United States and Vietnam have come in the past two decades in moving beyond their ‘difficult history’, as President...
Using the Power Bestowed Upon You for Good
It may seem that after several recent electoral defeats of prominent national dynasts, Asia’s ‘ruling families’ are in decline. However, a closer look suggests that reports of their political deaths are premature. The most prominent recent setback was the crushing...
Why 2016 Presidential Candidates Should Talk About ‘Classes’
In the 2016 presidential race, candidates from both major parties are looking for ways to address inequality. Partly, they must do so because seven years after the 2008 crash, many Americans still are not getting ahead, according to several analyses...
Could the Rise of the BRICS Countries Promote Global Capitalism?
The global recognition of the economic prowess of the BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – has led to the group gaining greater global political influence. But it has also reinforced the regional leadership standing of these...
Don’t Bother Asking the SEC about Political Contributions
The House Committee on Appropriations recently adopted a budget for an assortment of financial agencies. Tucked inside the 150-plus pages of legislative prose is a provision denying the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) funding to issue “any rule, regulation, or...
Is Beijing Pulling Tibetan Economic Growth Out of a Hat?
Analysts and scholars – including Chinese economists and social scientists – have long been critical of Beijing’s development strategy in Tibet. A heavy dependence on state subsidies to maintain high levels of economic growth cause economic inefficiencies and social inequalities....
China Appears to be Warming to Myanmar
At the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), made her first historic visit to China on 10–14 June 2015. Her visit enhanced understanding between the...
Safe Bet: The Next Taiwanese President will be a Woman
With legislator and Deputy Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu confirmed by the Standing Committee of the Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT), the presidential candidates for the two main parties contending for Taiwan’s 2016 election are both women, leading to the foregone conclusion...