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David Hutt

David Hutt

David Hutt is a journalist and commentator. He is a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS), and a columnist at The Diplomat and Radio Free Asia.

David Hutt is a journalist and commentator. He is a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS), a columnist at The Diplomat and Radio Free Asia, a contributor to the Economist Intelligence Unit and DW, and an associate editor at Contemporary Southeast Asia. He also writes the Watching Europe In Southeast Asia newsletter.

David Hutt has been Southeast Asia columnist at The Diplomat since 2016, writing weekly about Southeast Asian politics. He was formerly based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He was president of the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia between 2018 and 2019. He can be followed on Twitter @davidhuttjourno.

Posts by David Hutt
March 14, 2025

Filipinos Needed to See Duterte in the Dock

By David Hutt
Since his arrest, the ex-leader, his family, and his supporters have presented a spectacle of unrepentant self-pity.

March 12, 2025

What’s Behind Thailand’s Planned Border Wall With Cambodia?

By David Hutt
The wall will probably never be built. But it may prod the Cambodian authorities into taking belated action against the country's online scam syndicates.
March 09, 2025

Southeast Asia Must Learn to Defend Itself 

By David Hutt
Would any of the region's governments lift a finger to maintain peace on behalf of a neighbor?

March 07, 2025

There Are No Robin Hoods in Vietnam These Days

By David Hutt
More undergraduates from one of the world’s five remaining communist states were opposed to the redistribution of wealth through taxes than their peers in uber-capitalist Singapore or Malaysia.

February 27, 2025

Trump Is Ditching America’s European Allies. Don’t Be Sure He Won’t Abandon Its Asian Allies, Too.

By David Hutt
For the pathological pacifist who now occupies the Oval Office, nothing is off the table.

February 21, 2025

Is Anti-CPP Pro-Khmer Rouge? An Open Letter to Cambodia’s Justice Minister

By David Hutt
The Cambodian government still hasn't offered a convincing explanation for why it is outlawing the "denial" of Khmer Rouge atrocities.
February 12, 2025

The Contradictions of Religion and Politics in Southeast Asia

By David Hutt
The Pew Research Center's recent survey on "religious nationalism" throws up as many questions as it answers.

February 07, 2025

Some Thoughts On Sara Duterte’s Impeachment

By David Hutt
Ahead of mid-term elections in May, Philippine politics seems destined to be consumed by the Marcos-Duterte feud.

January 13, 2025

Singapore Should Intervene in the Region’s Online Scam Industry

By David Hutt
The Singaporean government wants to intervene in the bank accounts of its own citizens but not in the scam industries of neighboring countries.

December 20, 2024

Who’s Afraid of a ‘Cambodia Spring’?

By David Hutt
Despite the unexpected collapse of authoritarian edifices in Syria and Bangladesh, there is no guarantee of Cambodia following suit.

December 16, 2024

Where Are Southeast Asia’s ‘Cosmopolitan’ Leaders?

By David Hutt
There is more to cosmopolitanism than a Western education or the ability to speak foreign languages.
December 10, 2024

Cyberscamming is Southeast Asia’s Incurable Disease

By David Hutt
The region has experienced its share of criminality, but the recent explosion of online scam operations is both quantitatively and qualitatively different.

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