The Lead

The bane of Indonesia’s digital policy

The bane of Indonesia’s digital policy

How should regulators keep up with the pace of digital innovation? By understanding the nature of digital business and adopting an...

Don’t send grunts.  Send counterterrorists

Don’t send grunts. Send counterterrorists

The United States is going about things the wrong way. What will make them change?

Happy New Year! - or the ‘old normal’ for post-Covid climate change in Southeast Asia?

Happy New Year! - or the ‘old normal’ for post-Covid climate...

The Covid-19 pandemic and climate action in Southeast Asia means that more ambitious measures are needed to meet targets set within...

The ‘Biden Doctrine’ in Southeast Asia

The ‘Biden Doctrine’ in Southeast Asia

The United States needs to mend some fences. But it’s probably worth the wait.

China’s economy is booming again, but what are the risks?

China’s economy is booming again, but what are the risks?

The mainland has had an incredible rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic, but with continued problems in the United States and Europe...

Female Indonesian migrant workers – are they being left behind?

Female Indonesian migrant workers – are they being left...

Let’s not leave anyone behind. Indonesian women carry the burden and deserve to be at the forefront of a labor transformation.

Can a Covid-19 tracing app save Indonesia?

Can a Covid-19 tracing app save Indonesia?

Something has to be done to get this virus under control. Technology may be the best answer.

Thailand in the midst of a US-China rivalry

Thailand in the midst of a US-China rivalry

Muddled in its own domestic political and health crises, the kingdom must appease both great-power nations and play them off against...

The weakening: Global governance and cooperation

The weakening: Global governance and cooperation

Can we all get along and cooperate? That is an increasingly pertinent question around the world.

The last (and most difficult) challenge to democracy

The last (and most difficult) challenge to democracy

Democracy means freedom. But does it also mean destruction of that freedom?

Plural societies’ inequality and the promise of education

Plural societies’ inequality and the promise of education

Understanding the potentially “destructive impact” of educational practices on social stability and social justice is critically important...

Waving an old art into daily life

Waving an old art into daily life

An invitation to a wedding with a traditional East Javanese puppet performance is special, as it reveals that the tangled cultural...

The US and the South China Sea

The US and the South China Sea

The United States unveiled a new policy regarding China’s claims and actions in the South China Sea. So what happens next?

The future of civilization: Indonesia’s contribution

The future of civilization: Indonesia’s contribution

It’s time to renew the spirit of the Non-Aligned Movement for the 21st century.

Humanitarian Islam: Fostering shared civilizational values to revitalize a rules-based international order

Humanitarian Islam: Fostering shared civilizational values...

A movement is underway to change the face of Islam, whose base is shifting from the Middle East to Asia.