The World Bank’s survey of Women, Business and the Law reports that almost 90 percent of the world’s countries still have at least one legal difference restricting women’s opportunities in 2014. Read Here – Businessweek
The departure of Gambia and the fight over the Sri Lankan summit reveal how weak Commonwealth institutions have become. The secretariat is accused of actively dodging any politically sensitive issue, and its reticence to speak out means that the Commonwealth suffers from a very low public profile. A 2009 poll in seven countries showed than […]
Global swing states are nations that possess large and growing economies, occupy central positions in a region or stand at the hinge of multiple regions, and embrace democratic government at home. Increasingly active at the regional and global level, they desire changes to the existing international order but do not seek to scrap the interlocking […]
Conflict over land tenure in Southeast Asia’s rural areas has emerged as a key issue for the region. To achieve goals such as economic development and poverty reduction in rural areas, governments in the region have pursued policies to attract investment from large corporate entities both domestically and internationally, to undertake projects on “vacant” and […]
At the end of 2012, Singapore could boast the world’s thirty-seventh economy, an almost negligible unemployment rate of 2%, and one of the highest incomes per capita among leading industrial economies. Yet any recent arrival to the Lion City quickly notes a seething undertone of resentment and dissatisfaction across significant segments of the population. Read Here – The […]
Over the last few years, Jakarta has laid down legal infrastructure that discriminates against religious minorities, allowing Islamists to take the law into their own hands, says Pallavi Aiyer. Read Here – The Hindu
Numbers are important in explaining political issues and interpreting election results but they are rarely used to identify a person’s political affiliation, much less a person’s religion. In Southeast Asia, however, where numerology has retained its appeal among the masses, numbers are increasingly being used by politicians and religious leaders in support of a particular […]
Malaysia’s governing coalition won a tight national election on Sunday to extend its 56-year rule, fending off an opposition alliance that pledged to clean up politics and end race-based policies in Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy. Read here – Reuters
Malaysians are widely expected to elect Prime Minister Najib Razak to another term in office when they go to the polls on Sunday, but any victory will fall far short of a ringing endorsement and could herald trouble ahead. Najib’s United Malays National Organization (UMNO) – the pro-Malay lead political party in the Barisan Nasional […]
Southeast Asia has four monarchies, each with its own unique traits. Brunei is an absolute monarchy, while Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia have the constitutional form…It remains to be seen if these institutions will play a prominent role in shaping the future of their societies, and whether they will coexist with greater democracy and transparency. Read […]
looking beyond borders 