In a world of increasing political polarization, a fast-growing group of people from media and academe are pushing back in the United States in defense of democracy— donning the color …
Making Sense of Imperial Manila: The Philippine Rural-Urban Divide in the Era of Rodrigo Duterte
The 30th South East Asian Games (SEA Games) hosted by the Philippines in 2019 have caused social cleavages to resurface at a time when the host nation should be presenting a united front. Trouble …
Mayor of Manila: A Portrait of Populism as Performativity
Last September, I started a new job in Manila City. Despite having lived right next to it for all of my adult life, spending most of my waking hours in a new city – the country’s capital – has taken …
Continue Reading about Mayor of Manila: A Portrait of Populism as Performativity →
Is orange ever a possibility in Thai politics?
Thailand is the country that has had the most number of coups in modern history. This says a lot about how troubled Thai politics is and how deep polarization occurs in this relatively progressive and …
Continue Reading about Is orange ever a possibility in Thai politics? →
A Game of (Presidential) Thrones: The Burgeoning Alliances in Venezuela’s Ongoing Political Crisis
Much like the warring families in George R.R. Martin’s bestselling fiction series Game of Thrones, Juan Guaidó and Nicolás Maduro have allies from beyond their borders which, like in the ending …
Turkey’s invasion of Syria: A democratic crisis
Ras al-Ayn bombing on October 10, 2019. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. When United States President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of American troops in northern Syria in October, chaos and …
Continue Reading about Turkey’s invasion of Syria: A democratic crisis →
In the Philippines, the biggest threat to press freedom is Duterte
President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Ten years ago, on November 23, 2009, 58 people—32 of them journalists—were brutally killed in the sleepy and impoverished town …
Continue Reading about In the Philippines, the biggest threat to press freedom is Duterte →
Japan’s Democracy under Abe: National Security over Civil Liberties?
Freedom of assembly and association as well as speech, press, and all other forms of expression are guaranteed. No censorship shall be maintained nor shall the secrecy of any means of communication be …
Continue Reading about Japan’s Democracy under Abe: National Security over Civil Liberties? →