Ear to Asia

For the nearly eight decades since its founding, Pakistan has struggled to find a balance between civilian democratic governance and the power wielded by its armed forces. The military has directly ruled the country for almost half of its existence through coups d’etat and martial law. Even during periods of civilian rule, its influence has loomed large, often described as a "state within a state." The result has been a democracy where no prime minister has ever completed a five-year term...

For decades, Iran has skillfully employed a network of proxy militant groups across the broader Middle East to project power and advance its interests, while maintaining an impression of plausible deniability on the global stage. At its core lies a "forward defence" strategy: pushing away or pre-empting threats from Iranian soil. Yet while this approach prioritises security, it also carries risks...

Straddling the boundaries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, the Baloch people have long endured as a distinct ethnic group whose aspirations have been overshadowed by the ambitions of larger state actors. In Balochistan, in Pakistan's west, Baloch ethno-nationalist assertions of identity have long driven protests and petitioning directed at Islamabad -- occasionally taking the form of militant insurgencies...

Indonesia, the world's third largest democracy, has elected Prabowo Subianto to be its next president in a sweeping victory. Yet, Prabowo, who enjoyed substantial support from Indonesia's young voters, is a controversial figure with a reputation marred by human rights violations, a history of anti-democratic rhetoric, and ties to the authoritarian regime of Suharto (1967-1998)...

Malaysian society stands at a crossroads as ethnic tensions simmer, fueled by fiery rhetoric and a rise in Malay nationalism. Recent elections exposed a divided democracy, with populists pushing an agenda that strains the nation's multicultural fabric. Despite the absence of actual violence, social media is amplifying hate speech that paints minorities as threats, thus widening the rift between the Malay majority and other ethnic groups...

China's Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2023, aims to reshape global governance by emphasising mutual respect between civilizations and common human values. While it ostensibly appears to embrace diversity, some analysts argue that it primarily serves China's own interests by reshaping international norms in favour of authoritarian regimes...

Despite China's official stance that reunification with Taiwan is non-negotiable, the perspectives of mainland Chinese writers, filmmakers, and television producers who have lived on the island are often far more nuanced. How have these artists reconciled their ties to the mainland with their experiences in Taiwan? What distinguishes the works of those who fled the mainland at the end of the Chinese Civil War from those who arrived in Taiwan decades later? Historian and translator Dr...

Despite China's official stance that reunification with Taiwan is non-negotiable, the perspectives of mainland Chinese writers, filmmakers, and television producers who have lived on the island are often far more nuanced. How have these artists reconciled their ties to the mainland with their experiences in Taiwan? What distinguishes the works of those who fled the mainland at the end of the Chinese Civil War from those who arrived in Taiwan decades later? Historian and translator Dr...

With the return of the El Niño weather pattern after a three-year hiatus, several Southeast Asian nations are preparing for the resurgence of the hazardous haze caused by peatland fires in Indonesia. Indonesia’s 24 million hectares of tropical peatlands – the largest holding worldwide – support vital biodiversity and carbon storage. However, agricultural expansion and drainage for oil palm and pulpwood plantations pose severe threats to these ecosystems...

As India’s diaspora continues to expand in Western nations, what are the implications of caste identity, and the discriminatory practices that accompany it, for corporate managers? Despite being prohibited by law in India, cultural norms and social practices have allowed caste-based discrimination to persist...