Power

Political reporting and analysis on the big questions facing the region.

Power • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 20, 2019 • 11 min read

Hun Sen vs Sam Rainsy The strongman and the strawman

By Paul Millar • Jun 20, 2019
Exiled opposition politician Sam Rainsy has once again pledged to come back to Cambodia. But for a government eager to imagine itself as under assault on all sides, he’s far more useful to Hun Sen in Paris

Power • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 19, 2019 • 9 min read

South China Sea Mr. Forones takes on China

By Carsten Stormer • Jun 19, 2019
For years, Beijing has been controlling islands, reefs and atolls in the South China Sea. And one Philippine fisherman has started fighting back

Power • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 11, 2019 • 8 min read

Wa State independence Chasing the dragon

By Torgeir Norling • Jun 11, 2019
From our print archive: a handful of people have made a fortune dealing in illegal drugs. The rest of the population lives in extreme poverty. Southeast Asia Globe visits Myanmar's isolated Wa State

FROM THE PRINT ARCHIVE
Power • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 07, 2019 • 8 min read

Thailand drug war Justice denied

By Torgeir Norling • Jun 07, 2019
From our print archive: the human cost of Thaksin Shinawatra's brutal war on drugs

Power • Jun 03, 2019 • 18 min read
Casinos

Show me the money

As dozens of casinos set up shop in Cambodia each year, they stand to make millions annually – but the Kingdom has yet to rake in its fair share of the industry’s rising profits
By Robin Spiess

Power • Apr 04, 2019 • 7 min read
Religion

How Sharia came to Brunei

Brunei has become the first country in Southeast Asia to fully implement Sharia criminal law on a national level, imposing brutal punishments for adultery and same-sex relations
By Thomas Brent

Power • Apr 03, 2019 • 4 min read
Malaysia

The region’s corrupt politicians should watch the 1MDB trial closely

Ten years to the day after being sworn in as prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak is standing trial for a slew of corruption and money laundering crimes. Asia Institute Tasmania director James Chin explains what the corruption trial means for the region’s once-untouchable political elite
By Paul Millar

Power • Feb 21, 2019 • 10 min read
Rohingya

No refuge either

Last month, India deported a family of Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar to face statelessness and possible genocide in their homeland – the latest blow in a fierce anti-Muslim movement under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing government
By Lesly Lotha

Power • Feb 19, 2019 • 9 min read
China And the West

Too little, too late

China’s Belt and Road Initiative is reshaping the global monetary order – and the West is floundering in the face of it
By Minh Pham, Yves Carmona

Power • Feb 14, 2019 • 4 min read
Politics

Aung San Suu Kyi’s arrogance

Protests in Kayah state over the construction of a statue of the late general Aung San – father of today’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi – represent growing divisions in Myanmar, which could have consequences for Suu Kyi’s party in the 2020 elections
By Thomas Brent

Power • Feb 12, 2019 • 15 min read
US / China Rivalry

In a new world order, which stars will guide the way?

As the 21st century gathers momentum, one theme is becoming increasingly apparent; the power struggle between China and the US. But in the battle for world domination, who will prevail? Two books, one from Singapore and the other from the US, attempt to answer this ever-more-urgent question
By Dirk Kurbjuweit