Category: Featured

Featured articles from FORSEA contributors.


Duterte has forfeited the Philippines’ EU trade privileges

In 2014, Trade Justice Pilipinas supported the Philippines’ pursuit of favorable trade privileges from the EU, hoping they would deter human rights abuses. Six years later, that hope has disappeared, and so should those privileges.

/ October 7, 2020

‘We are not dust, we are human beings’: The message for the next protest this month in Bangkok

Thai student protests are not just to shame the government, they also wanted to reform the monarchy – a long-held taboo in the Land of Smiles. The demand for immediate monarchical reform is now an official objective of the protesters.

/ October 4, 2020

Sabah Election Ends Inconclusively

Because of the outsize political representation handed to them at independence, Sabah and Sarawak parliamentarians now ironically hold king-making power over the fragmented Malay parties. That leverage could moderate the blatant governance abuses, provided the Borneo states learn to use their influence wisely.

/ October 1, 2020

FORSEA’s statement on the arrest of Joshua Wong

The arrest of Joshua Wong resonates with what is going on elsewhere from like-minded political activists in Asia. Youths are protesting against authoritarianism in their own country, but are labelled as threat to national security and hence prosecuted.

/ September 25, 2020

After COVID: 10 Steps to Avert Global Financial Collapse

In the US and China, volatile stock markets, property bubbles, and unregulated shadow banking sectors could trigger the next global financial implosion. The COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity for reform.

/ September 24, 2020

Militaries in Politics: Thailand and the Philippines

Mesrob Vartavarian discusses the history of the militaries of both Thailand and the Philippines and explains how they became so deeply involved in their country's politics.

/ September 19, 2020

Nataphol Teepsuwan and Rugby School: A Conflict of Interest at the Education Ministry of Thailand

Here lies a problem. Nataphol’s ministerial position is undoubtedly a conflict of interest. He is running a private international school and at the same time heading the Ministry of Education, Thailand.

/ September 15, 2020
Melitia Stature East Timor FORSEA

Militias and Democratization in Southeast Asia

Militias have contributed to the making of illiberal societies and the militarization of subaltern social groups. If democracies are to truly thrive in Southeast Asia, they must do so without militias. 

/ September 12, 2020

Rethinking the K-pop industry’s silence during the Black Lives Matter movement

Socially conscious and politically outspoken American fans can nudge the K-pop industry to become more political, especially as K-pop aims to stay global.

/ September 4, 2020
Thailand Student Protest Democracy Monument

Burmese activists express solidarity with Thai student protestors

Over the years, thousands of Burmese dissidents have received support and space from Thai communities, politicians and even governments in Bangkok. They now call for solidarity protests across Southeast Asia in support of young Thai protesters on the streets of Bangkok.

/ August 29, 2020