By Murray Hiebert & Norashiqin Toh — The election of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in July 2014 marked Indonesia’s third direct and peaceful selection of the country’s president and seemed to consolidate the archipelago’s democratic gains. Given Indonesia’s impressive political transformation,…
By Samuel Glickstein — In November 2015, Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League of Democracy (NLD) achieved a massive victory in Myanmar’s general election. In addition to winning in traditional party strongholds, the NLD also dominated in most…
By Phuong Nguyen — In Southeast Asia, Japan can be said to enjoy unrivaled popularity. According to the 2015 Pew Global Attitudes survey, an average of about 80 percent of respondents surveyed across four Southeast Asian countries said they hold…
The Railways Ministry created a corporate entity to develop the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail line; budget sessions for state legislatures in Andhra, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, West Bengal; Rajasthan selling stakes in power utilities to pay down debts; West Bengal…
West Bengal’s finance minister Amit Mitra (former head of FICCI) to lead GST committee for states; Andhra legislature meets starting March 5; Delhi government launches solar power subsidy program; Karnataka expands industrial self-certification program; Maharasthra dramatically liberalizes retail sector; Tamil…
By Michael Sheldrick If nothing else, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s visit to the United States in mid-January — his first as Prime Minister — served to highlight a simple fact: Australia matters. In 2016 the world’s most powerful country is…
This week, Maharashtra passes new policies reducing inspections, easing land transfer, and allowing direct sales by farmers to retailers; the center extends the deadline for implementing the Food Security Act again; Telangana is getting a National Investment and Manufacturing Zone; Uttar Pradesh extends industrial…
CSIS and the Center for Strategic Studies and International Development (CSSD) co-hosted a unique event on January 14, 2016, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam titled 20 Years of U.S.-Vietnam Relations in Perspective. The conference recognized the 20th anniversary of…
By Megan Kelly – For years, China has occupied a dominant space in U.S. reporting of world affairs. A 2003 study by University of Michigan’s Communication Studies Department shows that while media does not strongly influence the American public’s opinions…
This week: states will be allowed to mine their own coal; Mumbai is causing trouble for high-speed rail; Rajasthan is restructuring its power utilities; Rajasthan will present SEB restructuring plan in its state assembly; the CAG questions Rajasthan’s policies to…
