It’s grant writing season again. This is a stressful time for all struggling academics. But one of the biggest stresses is that every grant application now demands some sort of obeisance to the Gods of Utility. We must exhaustively document how our...
The recent turmoil about the role of radical Islam in elections for a new Governor of Jakarta conceals another dimension of Indonesian politics: the decades long effort of an old elite family to grab the presidency in Indonesia....
“What should we do with academic institutions inherited from a cruel past? Are such institutions reformable, or should they simply be decommissioned? Or, for that matter, literally be burned down in the hope ...
The South China Sea dispute is often portrayed as an archetypal case of an overbearing great power bullying its weaker neighbours. A common kneejerk reaction to this...
Sometimes fiction tells the truth and history perpetuates a fiction. This blog tells us about how history has been used to serve the creation of a national mythology, while fiction has allowed a ...
Why do criminals enter politics in the world’s largest democracy? Why do parties nominate candidates with criminal backgrounds? And why do voters support these candidates? Sarthak Bagchi delves into some...
In Bangkok, the mourning of King Bhumibol Adulyadej has become part of the city’s daily life. David Kloos took pictures. When King Bhumibol of Thailand died on 13 October 2016 hundreds of thousands took to the streets ...
"See what is left of our rubber trees", says Titik, the leader of a group of angry villagers. After a magnificent boat ride through majestic forest, I met his group in Rawang, Central Kalimantan, standing at the edge of ...
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is expected to pay a state visit to the Netherlands this year. Visits by Indonesian presidents to the Netherlands have been accompanied by...
Indonesia made international headlines with its 2006 Anti-Pornography Bill and controversial virginity tests for female military recruits in 2015. The ensuing debate on decency, chastity and the perceived...