What to Expect from ASEAN: 2022 Onwards Opinion The year 2022 brings in not just one or two but a handful of hot button issues to deal with for ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Between economic recovery from the pandemic through to internal civil war within Myanmar and external disputes and alliances, Cambodia assumes Chair of ASEAN with plenty to consider. ASEAN’s culture and intergovernmental model value cooperation but a different kind of multilateralism may be changing the stakes and strategies in negotiation across the ten member states.
Will ASEAN End Up Going Greener after COVID-19? Background While the answer to when, and if, the post-COVID era will come remains uncertain, it is clear that sustainability is back in centre stage - no longer as the hip slogan of the 90s - but as a survival need. By Johanna Son
Human Rights Against Populism: A Progressive Response to the Politics of Duterte and Mahathir Background As the world celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the region of Southeast Asia highlights two compelling political phenomena: the emergent ‘authoritarian populism’ and the return to the ‘Asian Values’. By Bonn Juego
Human Rights After Seventy Years: The View from the South Background Seventy years after the adoption of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) human rights are found in country’s constitutions and also incorporated in regional instruments. However, there is no issue as heated as the universality character of human rights. By Yuyun Wahyuningrum
Time for a Pushback in Media Spaces Digital, online and social-media avenues undoubtedly offer an alternative or complementary channel for news, because of the inherent difficulty in censoring these spaces. Their wide reach and levels of engagement have saved lives during disasters or emergencies.
App-learning on Khmer Rouge history: an internet-based multimedia application Many young Cambodians have little knowledge about the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime. The Bophana Center developed an app that provides free access to these historical events. By Sopheap Chea and Duong Keo
IT giants in China: a tough business China suffers from draconian internet regulations, but enjoys a prosperous marketplace; it attracts IT giants from the United States and Europe, but it has also expelled some of them. By Sophie Ping Sun
Re-thinking media reform in Southeast Asia: promoting a participatory approach Instead of top-down reforms for the media, the countries in Southeast Asia need policies that prioritize the public’s interests. By Gayathry Venkiteswaran
The curious case of vox populi 2.0: ASEAN’s complicated romance with social media Social media in ASEAN has quickly evolved from being a passive tool for knowledge consumption and entertainment to an active mechanism for change. By Joel Mark Baysa Barredo and Jose Santos P. Ardivilla
ASEAN’s Double Vision of Migration Although ASEAN’s new consensus document on migration is a giant step towards safeguarding the rights of migrant workers, it still sticks to putting skilled professionals and lower-skilled migrants in separate silos. By Johanna Son
