Political Economy

Indonesia’s Papua, covering its two easternmost provinces, simmers with the highest levels of deadly violence — inter-ethnic, electoral, land-related and domestic — in the country. Home to a Melanesian and largely Christian indigenous population, it became part of Indonesia in...

The Hong Kong government’s election reform proposal will theoretically allow for greater flexibility and competition for the 2017 race for Chief Executive. Pan-democratic lawmakers are vowing to veto the proposal, threatening the result and ultimately the 2017 ‘one person one...

After last week’s elections, British politics is at a unique turning point and perhaps so is US policy, where in a tumultuous world; Great Britain has heretofore been a steadfast US ally.  The final vote on Thursday, May 7, confounded...

Just a few days before the election, I predicted that Labour would win 270 seats and the Conservatives 275, and Labour would form a minority government. I begin with this confession as a warning that the wise should read what...

Xi Jinping has recently published a book of maxims and instructions concerning ‘the comprehensive advancement of Socialist rule of law’. This is another strong political signal that the top leadership has committed itself to a process of legal reform. While...

Three developments drove the dollar last week.  The Eurozone bond market sell-off exhausted itself with the help of softer than expected German industrial orders and an outright decline in industrial output. The US jobs data bolstered arguments that what now...

There are four developments today that impact global investors. The first is that the Reserve Bank of Australia delivered a 25 bp rate cut but signaled in its statement that is has returned to a wait and see mode.  The...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s US visit was, overall, a success. His meeting with President Obama and his Congressional speech created the impression of a leader who is capable of delivering. During his visit to the US two years ago, Abe...

Since the mid-1990s, public criticism of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) government has expanded to involve thousands of citizens across the country. From this ferment of criticism numerous individuals, networks and organisations have emerged that oppose the present regime...

For centuries, the Chinese state has governed its distant ethnic frontiers with both carrot and stick. In the past, emperors proffered ‘imperial grace’ (Ä“n) for those ‘barbarians’ willing to submit (at least nominally) to Chinese dominion, while reserving the right...

The last few years have been remarkable for Greece’s relationship with the EU. The bail-out agreements between the country and the EU-IMF, the interference of the latter two in domestic affairs and the imposition of austerity have caused a sharp...

The economy is taking centre stage in the UK election, with the main parties spending most of their time arguing over the speed and extent of cuts – and which party would be more “fiscally responsible”. But the fundamental (and...

In the official count, the country tallies up 135 different ‘national races’. The majority Bamar people, who drive national expectations of language, culture and politics, make up around 60 percent of the population. The minority groups, most with their own...

The Chinese authorities last met with representatives of the Tibetan exile leadership five years ago. Since then, there has been no progress towards a resolution of the China–Tibetan dispute. Meanwhile, protests against Chinese rule have continued, with over a hundred...

Five years ago, a fresh-faced leader of the opposition stood on the stage at a TED conference in London speaking to a gathering of technologists and entrepreneurs. His promise was to deliver the next age of government. David Cameron’s talk did...