government

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 […]

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8. May 2014

The Creeping Coup

democracy, government, InFocus, political crisis, political parties, Thailand

Thailand has an impressive track-record in the department of political coups. There has, in the country’s democratic history (since 1932) been 18 more or less successful coups in Thailand. For this reason, whenever there is political instability, Thai media and followers of Thai politics very quickly start using the word “coup”. Will there be a […]

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9. Dec 2013

The dice that always land on red

corruption, democracy, government, InFocus, political prties, politics, Thailand

About a week ago, Thailand’s capital Bangkok, saw the largest demonstrations since the political turmoil that gripped the country in 2010. Back then, supporters of Thailand’s exiled former Premier, Thaksin Shinawatra, took the streets. That didn’t end well – when the smoke cleared after the demonstrations, 92 people had lost their lives and over 1000 […]

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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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20. 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 […]

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2. 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 […]

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29. Oct 2012

Xi Jinping: My road into politics

China, government, InFocus, politics

An interview from 2000 with China’s Vice President Xi Jinping Translated into Western language for the first time At the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China to be held in November 2012, China’s Vice President Xi Jinping is expected to be elected as the new Secretary General of the party. In August 2000, […]

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15. Oct 2012

Mo Yan på tryggt avstånd från politiken av Johan Lagerkvist

China, culture, democracy, government, Human rights, InFocus, International relations, literature, politics

Svenska Akademiens beslut att 2012 års Nobelpris i litteratur går till den kinesiske författaren Mo Yan är ett val som får enorm uppmärksamhet i Kina. Det är svårt att överskatta Nobelprisernas betydelse i ett land och en kultur där dessa utmärkelser – i synnerhet de naturvetenskapliga – varit stora nyheter alltsedan reformpolitiken inleddes 1978. I en […]

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3. Oct 2012

What happened to political reform in the second term of China’s Hu Jintao-Wen Jiabao administration?

China, democracy, government, InFocus, politics

In a recent blog-article by Deng Yuwen the outgoing leadership of Hu-Wen was given its score-card, titled “Ten grave problems”. Number ten was the problem of lack of political reform, after the original promising start. While we are waiting for the change of leadership to come in the 18.Party Congress in November, let us look […]

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