This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
27. May 2014
Report from the streets of Bangkok
democracy, Elections, government, InFocus, political crisis, political parties, social activism, Thailand
For safety reasons I am omitting my name from this account. My apologies. I was in my house, when I heard. A friend messaged me, urging me to turn on the television, and so I did. All channels showed the same thing: Thailand’s General Prayuth Chan-ocha declared a total takeover of the country, Thailand was […]
Read more7. 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) […]
Read more24. 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 […]
Read more16. 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 […]
Read more20. Nov 2012
Pakistan: a consolidated democracy?
democracy, Elections, government, Human rights, InFocus, Islam, Pakistan, terrorism
Intervention at a conference arranged by South Asia Democratic Forum on the occasion of the UN Human Rights Council’s periodic review of “Pakistan”, Palais des Nations, Geneva, October 30, 2012. by Stig Toft Madsen Senior Research Fellow NIAS – Nordic Institute of Asian Studies This intervention will cover the period from the return of Benazir […]
Read more2. Nov 2012
Slaget om Kinas framtida ledarskap av Johan Lagerkvist
China, Elections, government, InFocus, politics
Med början den 8 november ska det kinesiska kommunistpartiet hålla sin 18:e nationella partikongress. En hel värld som har blivit samberoende med Kinas ekonomi kommer att påverkas av det förestående maktskiftet. Omgivningen svävar dock i ovisshet om den nya politbyråns sammansättning och framtida politik, i en atmosfär där datum för kongressen offentliggjordes först den 28 […]
Read more17. Apr 2012
What is happening in Korea? by Gabriel Jonsson
Elections, InFocus, Korea, nuclear weapons, politics
During the past week, South Korea held parliamentary elections whereas North Korea made a failed missile test and celebrated the 100th anniversary of the nation’s founder, eternal President Kim Il Sung (1912-1994). In the April 11 elections, the ruling Saenuri party won 152 of 300 seats in the 300-member National Assembly. The main opposition party, […]
Read more6. Sep 2011
Six Prime Ministers in 5 years – why Japanese Prime Ministers are so short-lived
Elections, government, InFocus, Japan, politics
“What is going in Japan with six prime ministers in five years?” seems to be a frequently asked question these days. In this blog post, I will try to answer this question – or at least shed some light on how we can understand current Japanese politics. We need to understand, firstly, why Kan chose […]
Read more25. Oct 2010
Send in the clowns – Burma election Nov. 7 2010 by Anya Palm
Burma, Elections, In Focus blog 2010 week 43, InFocus
The spotlight is brightly
lit, while the preparations take place behind stage. The stage itself is empty
– for now – but every single seat in the audience is taken. All the VIP-guests
are in place – the UN, the ambassadors, the human rights defenders, the
experts. But despite a packed crowd, the theater is silent. The focus on the
empty stage is so intense that the spectators are not even exhaling. They are
waiting. They do not know what the show will be about and that is what makes
the waiting so tense. All they know is that it is a performance of utmost
12. Feb 2010
Sri Lanka Classic by Karin Munkholm
Elections, InFocus
Presidential elections, parliamentary Elections, opposition presidential
candidate arrested, president extends his presidential periode, takes over
ministry of information and communication. Some how all seen before including
the reaction of the Western powers.