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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

September 04, 2024

Pope Francis Must Talk About Sexual Abuse Allegations in Timor-Leste

By David Hutt

The deeply Catholic country is struggling to come to terms with historic cases of child rape by Catholic clergy.

August 29, 2024

After China, Vietnam’s New Leader To Lam Is Off To America

By David Hutt

To Lam is expected to travel next month to New York for the U.N. General Assembly, a trip that could also include meetings with President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris.

August 23, 2024

The Eighteenth Brumaire of To Lam

By David Hutt

The newly appointed Communist Party chief has the potential to become a dictator.

August 19, 2024

Why Should I Mourn the Death of Nguyen Phu Trong?

By David Hutt

Absent in many eulogies for the late Communist Party chief was any recognition of the scores of government critics whose lives were ruined during his time in power.

August 12, 2024

How Dense Are Thailand’s Reactionaries?

By David Hutt

In quashing one political threat, the country's conservative establishment may have created an even bigger one.

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.