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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
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July 29, 2024

Some Reasons Not to Panic About a Thai Demographic Collapse

By David Hutt
Thailand’s working-age population could decline by around a fifth by 2050, but things are not as grim as they look.
July 26, 2024

Who Cares If Malaysia and Thailand Join BRICS?

By David Hutt
As it expands, the grouping has become increasingly incapable of articulating a coherent political, security, or economic vision.

July 22, 2024

Don’t Worry Too Much About Emigration From Laos

By David Hutt
The problem isn’t workers leaving. The problem is what’s happening to the youngsters who are replacing them.

July 02, 2024

Is Laos Planning to Sell Off More of Its Energy Sector to China?

By David Hutt
The power utility's recent curious dealings with a prominent local conglomerate suggest that something is afoot.

June 26, 2024

Has Team Marcos Justified Its Economic Swagger?

By David Hutt
For all its economic challenges, the Philippines has one major advantage over its Southeast Asian peers.
June 19, 2024

Fear A Militarily Weak China

By David Hutt
Is China's military the juggernaut some imagine, or a paper tiger like Russia's degraded armed forces? Either way, getting a definitive answer would be terrible for almost everyone.

June 12, 2024

Was the CIA Director Recently in Phnom Penh?

By David Hutt
Whether or not William Burns visited Cambodia, as former PM Hun Sen seemed to claim, U.S.-China competition has set off an intelligence race in Southeast Asia.
June 05, 2024

Looking At Demographics, Thailand’s Minimum Wage Hike Makes Sense

By David Hutt
The country's shrinking workforce is primarily a problem for consumption, not production.

May 23, 2024

The Funan Techo Canal Won’t Have A Military Purpose

By David Hutt
Arguments that Cambodia's China-backed canal project will pose a security threat to Vietnam are wildly overblown.

May 17, 2024

Why Is Vietnam Becoming A Police State?

By David Hutt
After years of focusing narrowly on economic growth, the Communist Party is seeking a different – and sharper-edged – form of legitimacy.

May 08, 2024

Is the Lao State Collapsing?

By David Hutt
The current economic crisis has hollowed out the capacity of an already weak state apparatus.
May 02, 2024

Even If Thailand’s MFP Is Dissolved, the Monarchy Reform Movement Will Live On

By David Hutt
If disbanded over its pledge to reform the country's "sacred" institution, the Move Forward Party will simply re-emerge in new form.

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