In The News

Is ASEAN Losing Its Way?

Amitav Acharya September 24, 2015
The charter for the Association of Southeast Asia Nations emphasizes economic growth and principles that support cooperation, renunciation of the use of force, mutual respect for members, and rejection of external interference or coercion. ASEAN’s track record for peaceful resolution of disputes through consensus may be at risk as unity erodes, warns author and researcher Amitav Acharya. Members...

Indian Job Ad Receives 2.3 Million Applicants

Victor Mallet September 21, 2015
India will soon outpace China as the world’s most populated nation and a young population is expected to energize the nation's economy. A job advertisement for tea boys and night guards has drawn 2.3 applicants, including college graduates. Policymakers, parents and young workers are alarmed. “The unprecedented deluge of applications is the latest confirmation of the grim employment...

The Bitter Story Behind the UK's National Drink

Justin Rowlatt and Jane Deith September 11, 2015
Tea is marketed as a symbol of relaxation and civilized culture, but reports emerge of poor conditions for workers on tea estates. “The joint investigation by Radio 4's File on Four and BBC News in Assam, north-east India, found workers living in broken houses with terrible sanitation,” reports BBC News. “Living and working conditions are so bad, and wages so low, that tea workers and their...

Raja-Mandala: Faith and Diplomacy

C. Raja Mohan September 2, 2015
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks common ground with his foreign counterparts and one of those includes religion, specifically Buddhism. That religion began in 624 BC in a stretch of northern India that is now Nepal – and spread throughout Asia. “Modi went beyond the notion of promoting India’s soft power to highlight the importance of Buddhism in dealing with the contemporary political...

New Delhi’s Soft Power Push

Harsh V. Pant August 20, 2015
Harvard University’s Joseph Nye identified a centuries-old concept, “soft power,” in the late 1980s: the ability of countries to attract admiration and followers through culture and values rather than coercion, military or “hard power.” Countries want to be liked, increasingly investing in soft power. Portland, a communications and public relations firm, studied 50 nations and ranked the top 30...

Myanmar Ousts Rising Political Star

Bertil Lintner August 18, 2015
The West celebrated the promise of democratic reforms for Myanmar after a new government was installed in 2011. The military signaled its desire to restore relations with the West, ending crippling sanctions while reducing excessive reliance on neighboring China. Observers in the West had pointed to the speaker of the Lower House of Myanmar’s bicameral parliament as a “bridge” linking Myanmar’s...

Indonesia Nabs Ship Believed to Carry Slave-Caught Fish

Margie Mason August 18, 2015
It’s a challenge for national governments to monitor activities of fishing vessels operating in open stretches of the ocean commons. “A massive refrigerated cargo ship believed to be loaded with slave-caught fish was seized by Indonesia's navy and brought to shore Thursday, after The Associated Press informed authorities it had entered the country's waters,” reports Margie Mason for the...