Blog

18. Jun 2013

Unearthing the Past: From Independent Filmmaking to Social Change

China, cultural studies, documentaries, film, InFocus, media, migrant workers, social activism, village elections

Wu Wenguang, considered the father of independent Chinese documentary film, has since 2005 slowly but surely been handing over the camera to people on the margins and to younger generations of Chinese documentary filmmaking. In 2010 Wu and Caochangdi Workstation initiated the Folk Memory Documentary Project, where young filmmakers go to the countryside to gather […]

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7. Jun 2013

How to Win Elections in Indonesia?

Elections, Indonesia, InFocus

Insights from the Campaigns for Jakarta Governor 2012 This online exhibition shows photographs, videos and other material from the 2012 election campaigns for the Governor’s office in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. It covers the two main pairs of candidates in the field: incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo (Foke) and his running mate Nachrowi Ramli (Nara) […]

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24. May 2013

Of Lions and Men: Pakistani Elections and Feline Symbolism

Elections, InFocus, Pakistan, political parties, Symbolism

This spring six museums in Copenhagen exhibit collections of art and handicraft depicting flowers. As a visitor to the museum called Davids Samling – which houses the most exquisite collection of Islamic art in Denmark – one learns that in the Indian subcontinent prior to 1707 flowers were often depicted naturalistically. However, when in that […]

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29. Apr 2013

Japanese politics at the crossroads

government, InFocus, Japan, political parties, politics

At the time of writing, there is every sign that Japanese politics is at an historical crossroads. In December 2012 the Japanese electorate voted the conservative Liberal Democratic Party back to power after a three-year break from 2009. Before then, the LDP had governed the country almost uninterruptedly since the onset of the Cold War. […]

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16. Apr 2013

Who can meet the expectations of the majority?

Elections, government, InFocus, Malaysia, political parties, politics

  Malaysia’s thirteenth general elections (GE13) will be a battle of the coalitions, pitting the world’s most successful ruling coalition – the 13 party Barisan Nasional (BN/National Front) against the 4 year old, three party Pakatan Rakyat (PR/People’s Pact/People’s Alliance). It is not easy to categorise the two opposing coalitions and its members as they […]

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12. Mar 2013

Another China – other inequalities

China, gender, Human rights, InFocus

By Mai Corlin, Ph.D. student, Aarhus University Gender inequality is not simply the unfair treatment of men and women. It is a complex issue tied to a whole range of disparities in society at large, argues Professor Min Dongchao, who has just been awarded a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship and will be a guest […]

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24. Jan 2013

The gunslinger state of Laos

development, economy, environment, Human rights, InFocus, Laos

On December 15, on his way back from work, the Laotian director, activist and award winner, Sombath Somphone, mysteriously disappeared. The last people to see him, according to leaked surveillance footage, were the Laotian authorities at a police control post, where he was pulled over, and then driven away in a different car. Despite that, […]

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16. Jan 2013

Iqbal’s Pakistan! – The Country Ahead?

culture, InFocus, Islam, nationalism, Pakistan

                                                                                                 The term ‘Iqbal’s Pakistan’ is frequently used […]

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7. Jan 2013

A couple of under-reported observations on North Korea’s rocket launch

InFocus, International relations, Korea, nuclear weapons, security studies

North Korea’s successful rocket launch on December 12, 2012 predictably spurred worldwide condemnation and media attention. Many of the reports immediately following the launch were remarkably similar and contained few attempts at alternative interpretations of the launch itself and of its implications. In the following text a couple of rather under-reported observations on the North […]

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21. Dec 2012

Myanmar – a country opening up?

Burma, democracy, development, Field work, Human rights, InFocus, Myanmar, politics

After 50 years of isolation Myanmar, formerly named Burma, is finally opening up to the outside world. According to the media the country is now welcoming tourists, foreign investment and development aid. But exactly what does the picture of openness look like in reality?   Photo taken in a small village in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta: […]

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