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Southeast Asia
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Webinar: Anwar Ibrahim’s long walk to power, and what comes next
After 30 years striving to claim Malaysia’s top job, Anwar Ibrahim became Malaysia’s 10th prime minister on 24 November at a critical time in the history of the country and region.
The Hard-Won Benefits of Soft Diplomacy
Culture matters for diplomacy, and the world would benefit by learning from the success of Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s “soft” Javanese style during the recent G20 summit in Bali, writes Kishore Mahbubani.
Anthony Albanese can set the right tone in Asian relations
Nine days of international summitry will be an important test of the Prime Minister’s low-key listening style, writes John McCarthy and Anthony Milner.
Three pathways for Australia to reset relations with Southeast Asia
The election of a Labor government in May brought an expectation that Australia would do more in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. But what will that look like and what new approaches should the government take? The region has changed since Labor was last in power, and so has Australia. A policy that relies on more of the same will not suffice in today’s intense environment, writes Huong Le Thu.
The Challenge of Identity in Modern Asia
Tensions between traditional values and the aspirations of a growing middle class for social modernity is a feature of many Asian societies. In these articles, two leading scholars of Indonesia and Singapore, Max Lane and Michael Barr, explore the challenge from two angles - controversies over pressure for jilbab use in state schools in Indonesia and the rights of the LGBTQI community in Singapore.