This policy brief is an expanded version of the Submission made by the Manila Observatory to the UNFCCC Transitional Committee after a sector-wide SEA-specific workshop in Bangkok, Thailand August 2023.
This policy paper investigates the trend towards authoritarian elections in mainland Southeast Asia – in Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar – with a focus on the right to political participation.
The study by Asia expert Dieter Reinhardt shows why the construction of this coal-fired power plant is an exemplary anachronism: it prevents the expansion of renewable energies, which is necessary because of climate change and for which Bangladesh has the potential; and it weakens coastal protection, which should have priority in view of rising sea levels.
Malaysia and Singapore share a history of suppression of youth activism by the state, and as a result, this has led to the depoliticisation of young people, who are often labelled as apathetic. However, the changing realities of both countries, such as the instability of the economy, has led young people to engage more in political discussions in recent years. However, the rise of youth activism also entails rising harassment and state suppression of youth activists through surveillance, arrests and threats to future employability.
In 2017 ASEAN turns 50. This book collects all articles of our dossier "50 Years of ASEAN" and analyzes the institutions of ASEAN - their history, dynamics and policies.
All over the world, information technologies and the internet have taken an increasingly important role in communication, challenging the conventional means of news consumption. Our office in Thailand has performed interviews with academics, journalists and activists to explore the role of new media in social movements in Thailand, and how it will develop.
This study provides an overview of bauxite mining – the chief material used in the production of aluminum – in three key locations in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and takes a deeper look at China’s role in this context. The study also examines the regional linkages behind bauxite mining decision-making in the three Mekong countries and unpacks the degree to which environmental and social considerations have been taken into account in the decision-making process.