Archive
September 2023
Queensland Allows Children to be Imprisoned in Police Watch Houses
By Dechlan Brennan
A new law allows children to be imprisoned in police watch houses, the equivalent of jails in the United States, as youth detention centers overflow. All while the number of youth offenders hits a decade low.
India’s Strengthening Energy Diplomacy With Southeast Asia
By Shruti Sharma
India is discussing cross-border power sharing in Southeast Asia, part of an attempt to become a major electricity exporter.
The Green Great Game Is This Century’s Space Race
By Chietigj Bajpaee
The rivalry for access to raw materials to facilitate the energy transition will turn the “Green Great Game” into one of the defining geopolitical features of the 21st century.
China’s Coercion Is Most Effective Against Poorer Countries
By Caleb Harding
It's often argued that China's coercive tactics do not achieve results. But new data suggests that's only true for countries with a high GDP per capita.
This Week in Asia: September 1, 2023
The Diplomat’s weekly video round-up of Asia news.
Will Regulatory Poison Pills Render AUKUS Dead on Arrival?
By Jeffrey P. Bialos
It’s time to consider novel, creative solutions to longstanding regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles that could, left unaddressed, doom AUKUS.
The First Republican Presidential Debate Revealed a Crucial Split on China Policy
By Jiachen Shi
The clash between Reaganism and the non-interventionism championed by the rising New Right will have enormous implications for China policy.
G20 Summit: India’s Authoritarianism Strangles Solutions to Global Challenges
By Avinash Kumar and Alena Kahle
Rather than setting an agenda that would put forward the voices of the Global South and the world’s most marginalized, India has used its G-20 presidency for cynically domestic political purposes.
What Will India’s Changing Approach To Bangladesh’s National Elections Mean for the Hasina Government?
By Arkoprabho Hazra
India is taking a much more inclusive approach toward the 2024 Bangladesh national elections, rather than putting all its bets on the Awami League.
Kyrgyzstan, Kusturizatsia, and Corruption
By Aksana Ismailbekova
Kusturizatsia means, literally, “vomiting.” Under the practice, corrupt individuals can repay a fraction of stolen proceeds to the state and then go about their business. Who knows where the money goes?
Women, Peace, and Security in the Pacific
By Heather Wrathall and Elizabeth Kopel
The Pacific Islands region is not immune to the scourge of gender-based violence, an insidious form of social instability with much wider implications.
Thailand’s King Reduces Prison Term of Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra to 1 Year
By Associated Press
It is widely believed that Thaksin returned out of hope that a new government friendly to him would reduce his sentence, and that he may have made a deal with authorities.