Category: Opinion

The latest opinion from those committed to making our region fair, just and democratic.


FORSEA Condemns the Dissolution of the Future Forward Party: A Setback for Thai Democracy

The Future Forward Party was a threat to the Thai traditional power holders, so it was eradicated by Thailand's Constitutional Court.

/ February 22, 2020
Limited Democracy Philippines

Limited Democracy: Elites and Subalterns in Contemporary Philippine Politics

Decades of elite-initiated societal fragmentation have made it far more difficult to mount a coherent progressive challenge to the Philippines’ predatory politics.

/ February 15, 2020
FORSEA says Act Now ASEAN

What does the Myanmar Provisional Measures Order by the International Court of Justice mean for ASEAN?

It is long overdue for ASEAN to sync its policies towards Myanmar with international opinion, legal and human rights, and the global public.

/ February 12, 2020
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh Rohingya Refugees FORSEA

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Rohingyas

The world should NOW use the ICJ’s stand to mount a massive global campaign on behalf of the oppressed and discriminated Rohingya.

/ January 27, 2020
Aung San Suu Kyi at the International Court of Justice KRSEA

“Why Myanmar’s Genocide Denial Will Come Back to Haunt It”, Washington Post, Jan. 15, 2020

The ICJ has announced that it will issue a preliminary judgment in the case on Jan. 23, 2020. Yet one outcome is already clear: Aung San Suu Kyi’s defiant genocide denial generated an outpouring of approval back home. This is chilling not only for the Rohingya and other Muslims inside the country, it is also extremely dangerous for the multiethnic and multi-religious state of Myanmar as a whole.

/ January 16, 2020
Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangruangruangkit FORSEA

What Will Thailand Look Like in 2020?

Vajiralongkorn is an ambitious king, he has also become increasingly politically savvy. But he is not alone in the world of ambitious leaders. New leaders, like Thanathorn, are equally ambitious. 2020 could be the year when the two collide.

/ January 11, 2020

ความล้มเหลวของไต้หวันภายใต้นโยบายมุ่งลงใต้และการรุกคืบของจีนในไทย

ไทยกลายเป็นสนามแข่งขันของการต่อสู้ระหว่างไต้หวันและจีน ในการแพร่อิทธิพลมาสู่เอเชียตะวันออกเฮียงใต้

Singapore Uses ‘Fake News’ Law Against Critics

The very thing that press organizations, social media platforms and human rights groups feared is now coming to pass in Singapore.

/ December 28, 2019
Boycott Myanmar Campaign

Rights Groups Launch Myanmar Boycott Ahead of Hague Genocide Hearings

Rohingya campaigners launch a global boycott movement, urging corporations, foreign investors, professional and cultural organizations to sever their institutional ties with Myanmar, on the eve of Myanmar’s genocide trial at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

/ December 10, 2019
A Tale of Two Warlords- Andal Ampatuan, Rodrigo Duterte, and the Philippines’ Mutating Politics FORSEA

A Tale of Two Warlords: Andal Ampatuan, Rodrigo Duterte, and the Philippines’ Mutating Politics

Local and provincial warlords had been an integral component of national politics since the postwar period. During the Arroyo years, Ampatuan and Duterte increasingly influenced national affairs from afar by dealing out violence in their respective locales.

/ November 29, 2019