Author : East Asia Forum

Democracy in Bangladesh is broken. The country recently witnessed political deadlock causing violence and crippling unrest. Bangladesh’s dysfunctional two-party system, dominated by the Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party...

Thailand’s General Prayuth Chan-ocha announced in February that Thailand would hold elections to restore democracy in early 2016. Despite their many efforts to make the case for the military...

On 12 March 2015, the United Kingdom submitted its application to become a prospective founding member of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The application created a major...

On 1 July 2014, the cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued a decision reinterpreting the Japanese constitution’s Article 9 ‘peace clause’ to allow the country to exercise collective...

The year 2015 marks 30 years in power for Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Hun Sen became prime minister in January 1985 at only 33 years old. He has...

Japan should seriously consider joining the new China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), regardless of the scheme’s detractors within the country. Chinese President Xi Jinping first proposed the AIIB...

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s seven-year fight against sodomy charges ended on 10 February 2015. His five-year prison sentence was widely seen as a victory for his political opponents...

Australia’s foreign policy has been a mix of positives and negatives under the Liberal-National Coalition government, as was true of the previous Labor government. Former Prime Ministers Gough Whitlam...

In July 2014, the Abe government adopted the ‘Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology’, which approved Japanese weapons exports as long as certain conditions are met....

Two and a half years ago, the then Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, launched a White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century. Despite its electronic burning by the...