Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
Author: Gerald Curtis, Columbia University
Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, may have taken a hit in the polls over recent weeks, but the prospect that the opposition Democratic Party (DP) might take advantage of his political misfortunes is virtually zero. How is it that DP politicians, many of whom are quite intelligent, have managed to run Japan’s major opposition party into the ground?
Author: Yuki Tatsumi, Stimson Center
There is more than the usual interest in the seventieth birthday of Japan’s constitution, importantly because of a move to revision of its most unusual and distinguishing feature — Article 9, its famous peace clause. Read more…
Author: K.V. Kesavan, Observer Research Foundation
Despite its enormous potential, the India–Australia partnership had remained low key for a long time. But since 2014 the two countries have instilled a new dynamism in their relations. Read more…
Author: Damien Kingsbury, Deakin University
Timor-Leste is a country increasingly able to stand on its own two feet. At least, that is the sense within Timor-Leste. Read more…
Author: Yoram Evron, University of Haifa
Over the years, China and Japan have followed very different paths of involvement in the Middle East. The one policy that both countries have consistently shared though is steering well clear of the region’s politics and conflicts. This is starting to change. Read more…
Author: Warwick McKibbin, ANU
The best indicator of the Trump administration’s economic agenda can be gleaned from candidate Trump’s ’Contract with America’. That Contract suggests that President Trump has a right-wing agenda on social, environmental and immigration policy and a left-wing agenda on trade and economic policy. Read more…
Author: Enze Han, SOAS
Conflict has flared up again in the Kokang region along the Sino–Myanmar border, leading to the deaths of at least 30 people and the outflowing of more than 20,000 refugees from Myanmar into China’s Yunnan province. Read more…
Author: Sumit Kumar, Pondicherry University
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s state visit to India from 7 to 10 April signalled a remarkable movement in the relationship between the two countries. Nearly seven years after Hasina’s last trip to India, the visit was of such importance that protocol was set aside and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally received Hasina at Palam airport in New Delhi. Read more…
Author: Emirza Adi Syailendra, RSIS
A hard-fought election for Jakarta’s governorship has revealed new leaders in Indonesia’s political landscape. Final quick-count results showed a double-digit victory margin for former education minister Anies Baswedan over controversial incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known as ‘Ahok’). The election has proved divisive, indicating a split between those who voted on performance and others who voted on identity politics. Read more…
Author: Toshiya Takahashi, ANU
Japan’s current constitutional revision debate is a silent challenge against freedoms espoused by the 1947 constitution. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has set aside revision of the controversial Article 9 peace clause for the moment, his administration’s inclination towards state control of civil liberties will shadow any future revision process. Read more…
Author: Yizhe (Daniel) Xie, Waseda University
Global trade needs a win to fend off rising tides of protectionism and anti-globalisation. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) offers the best ammunition to achieve this. Read more…
Author: Rajiv Kumar, Pahle India Foundation
A loan waiver for small farmers is the first policy to be pushed by Uttar Pradesh’s newly elected cabinet under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The waiver stands to benefit about 18.3 million farming households and extend the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) footprint deep into the rural countryside. Read more…
Author: Hugh White, ANU
Donald Trump is not the cause of the United States’ problems with China, but he makes them worse. His failings as President make it a lot less likely that over the next few years the United States will reach some kind of stable accommodation with the plain reality of Beijing’s power and ambition. Read more…
Author: Editors, East Asia Forum
Last Thursday Donald Trump declared steel imports to the United States were a threat to US national security. Read more…
Author: Razeen Sally, NUS
International trade is in trouble after the global financial crisis and, with the new Trump administration, the world faces a protectionist onslaught. As a result, there are three ways that international trade can go from here — one considerably ‘more likely’ than the other two. Read more…
