By Aung Din Before the November 8 election in Burma, or Myanmar, I predicted that the National League for Democracy party (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, would win the largest number of seats, but not enough to form…
By Gregory Poling Editor’s Note: The following post is the fifth in a series by CSIS Sumitro Chair scholars framing the political situation ahead of Myanmar’s general elections in November 2015. Millions of citizens in Myanmar will go to the…
This week we hear from U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes who discussed his recent trip to Myanmar and what the White House is watching for in the November 8 elections with Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies Ernie…
By Aung Din As I am writing this blog from Yangon, the November 8 election in Myanmar, or Burma, is only a few days away. As a long-time foot-soldier of Myanmar’s democracy movement, I view this historic election with both…
By Khine Thant Editor’s Note: The following post is the fourth in a series by CSIS Sumitro Chair scholars framing the political situation ahead of Myanmar’s general elections in November 2015. The critical role of ethnic political parties as kingmakers…
By Abby Seiff After promising a “culture of dialogue” and political reconciliation, Cambodia’s ruling party has moved from carrots to sticks. On Facebook, an image has been floating around in Cambodian circles over the past few days. It is a…
By Ernest Z. Bower & Conor Cronin For the first time in anyone’s memory, foreign policy and national security are poised to figure as major issues in the Philippine presidential election, scheduled for May 2016. Recent polls show Filipinos are…
This week: Gujarat schedules local elections; GST legislation is under way; Maharashtra plans a fire sale; Uttar Pradesh is building housing, and much more. There is widespread recognition of the importance of the political-economies of Indian states. Yet there is a…
By Jonathan Bogais — Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, Jokowi, for short, is in Washington for high-level talks with President Barack Obama, U.S. officials, and business leaders. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world, the third biggest democracy, and…
By Jonathan Bogais — Tensions are running high in Myanmar’s northwestern Rakhine State ahead of the November 8 general elections. The Organization for the Protection of Race and Religion, a body of ultra-nationalist monks—known locally as MaBaTha—is raising the stakes…