Asia
China links: Democracy, Osnos, carbon trading, China Dream and more
Quite an achievement: NZ now has free trade deals with China and Taiwan. (We'll have more on this later in the week.)
I've linked countless times to the New Yorker's China…
The world's most dangerous road
The Lowari Pass must have a decent claim to this title. A fascinating glimpse of Pakistani life courtesy of Al Jazeera:
(H/t Kottke.)Sam Roggeveen
Background for Rudd's PNG visit
With Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Papua New Guinea this Sunday and Monday to meet with his counterpart Peter O'Neill, it's useful to recall that the PNG PM gave an…
India links: Food security, Bhutan, corruption, Australia, social media, Pakistan and more
Danielle Rajendram is a Research Associate in the Lowy Institute's International Security Program.
Debate over the food security bill continues in India. Here's Devesh Kapur on…
Interview: 'How Asia Works' part II
Below is the second part of my exchange with Joe Studwell, whose book, as I said in the intro to part 1, has tested some assumptions about economic development I've been carrying…
Gulf states: The money or the vote?
As political unrest and violence hits much of the Arab world, the Gulf states (with the exception of Bahrain) have been able to sit back more or less serenely and use their…
Freelancing in Syria
Thanks to reader Olivia for steering me towards this breathtaking piece of writing from Italian journalist Francesca Borri on the front line in Syria. The Italian editors she…
Asylum seekers and Konfrontasi
The Piping Shrike is an anonymous Australian blog with some of the sharpest (if not always most readable) political analysis you will see.
This post from 1 July is the first…
What we know, and what we assume, about violent conflict and development in Asia
Marta Foresti heads the Overseas Development Institute's Politics and Governance Programme.
Sadly, we know a great deal about violence and conflict. Yet according to recent…
Burma and North Korea: Again? Still?
Andrew Selth is a research fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute.
The US Treasury's 'designation' of Lieutenant General Thein Htay, Chief of Burma's Directorate of Defence…