Author: Vikram Nehru, Carnegie Endowment
Political and economic reforms and the lifting of international sanctions have set in motion Myanmar’s re-entry into the family of nations.
Already, the release of over 600 political prisoners and other economic and political reforms, including the re-registration of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy for the 1 April by-election, have paved the way for the restoration of diplomatic relations with the US and other Western countries. Read more…
Author: Vikram Nehru, Carnegie Endowment
With elections expected to be held in Malaysia this year, there is reason for concern that tensions could rise in the event of a close result — and a misstep by either side could lead to violence.
National elections have to take place by March 2013, but Prime Minister Najib Razak has indicated that they could likely be sooner. Read more…
Author: Kevin Placek, Melbourne
Having ruled Japan for the better half of a century, it is no surprise that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has found it difficult to adapt to its role as Japan’s major opposition party.
But with the prospect of further political gridlock, it may be time for the LDP to reconsider its strategy. Read more…
Author: Barry Wain, ISEAS
Malaysians expressed a collective sigh of relief when Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was acquitted of sodomy charges in early January.
Their groan of dismay over the prosecution’s subsequent decision to appeal was equally palpable. Read more…
Author: Steven Kim, APCSS
The death of Kim Jong-il, though not entirely unexpected given the state of his health following a debilitating stroke in August 2008, has had a powerful psychological impact both domestically and globally.
His death leaves a huge vacuum not only in the North Korean psyche, but in the system that he embodied. Read more…
Author: Michel May, Waseda University
As bright as the future may seem for China, crucial reforms are needed in order to maintain its current rate of economic growth and prevent the Chinese economy from falling over like a house of cards.
Some of the most imminent challenges that China faces in the near future include environmental pollution, income inequality, uneven development between rural and coastal areas, and a risky financial system. The central government has already identified these problems, and reforms are now in place — including those contained within China’s twelfth five-year plan announced in March 2011. Read more…
Author: Bridget Welsh, SMU
Malaysia recently soared into the headlines after Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was acquitted of sodomy charges — although the prosecution has already filed for appeal.
The case is entirely political and reflects the government’s willingness to use the judiciary for political ends. Malaysia is set to enter the most competitive elections it has ever faced — likely to be held before June or else pushed off until 2013 — and each side has a fighting chance to win. Read more…
Author: Yasmi Adriansyah, ANU
Indonesians have reason to be both optimistic and pessimistic coming into 2012. The question is: which outlook is more likely to prevail?
In his New Year message, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) requested that all Indonesians work to maintain order. Read more…
Author: Malcolm Cook, Flinders University
Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou and the Kuomintang (KMT) won a double victory at the 14 January elections. Ma was re-elected — albeit with a much smaller margin — and the KMT maintained a reduced majority in the Legislative Yuan.
Read more…
Author: Yoon Young-kwan, Seoul National University
After North Korea’s sinking of a South Korean frigate, Cheonan, and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in 2010, inter-Korean relations did not improve much in 2011.
There was limited official contact between the South and the North and between the US and the North to discuss the possible resumption of Six-Party Talks or food aid. Read more…
Author: Aurelia George Mulgan, UNSW Canberra
In selecting his first cabinet and party executive line-up in September 2011, the most important motivation for Japan’s Prime Minister Noda was intra-party harmony.
His ministers were largely selected to appease political strongman Ichiro Ozawa, who maintains a well-deserved reputation for either running parties or destroying them. Read more…
Author: Scott A. Snyder, CFR
North Korea’s leadership succession from Kim Jong-il to Kim Jong-un has gone according to script.
The Korean Workers’ Party and the Korean People’s Army are supporting Kim Jong-un as North Korea’s new leader and North Korea’s propaganda machine has not missed a beat in announcing new titles, manufacturing accomplishments and portraying Kim Jong-un as a Great Successor worthy of the name. Read more…
Author: Michael Cucek, MIT Centre for International Studies
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda reshuffled his cabinet on 13 January, prior to the 24 January opening of the Diet’s regular session.
The reshuffle was preordained; the opposition-dominated House of Councillors censured two of Noda’s cabinet ministers on the last day of the extraordinary session last year. Read more…
Author: Peter Drysdale, Editor, East Asia Forum
In the latest episode in Pakistan’s unfolding political drama, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani appeared before the Supreme Court on Thursday over the failure to prosecute corruption charges against his political patron, President Asif Ali Zardari, who came to power after the assassination of his wife, Benazir Bhutto.
This is no simple one-plot play about a contest over political corruption between the Supreme Court and the civilian government of Pakistan. Read more…
Author: Moeen Cheema, ANU
Pakistan experienced dramatic political crises in 2011, including the covert raid carried out by the US on 2 May, which killed Osama bin Laden, and the killing of two civilians by CIA contractor Raymond Davis.
It was in these circumstances that an American businessman of Pakistani origin, Mansoor Ijaz, wrote a ‘memorandum’ to the US military commander urging an intervention on behalf of Pakistan’s elected government, which seemed on the verge of being toppled by the country’s historically powerful military establishment. Read more…
