Navigating the middle: Japan-Cambodia relations and the challenge of geopolitical competition

Written by Dr Sophal Ear

Cambodia offers a litmus test: if Japan can sustain influence there, it may do so across mainland Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia, East Asia9DLMay 29, 20259DASHLINE, Sophal Ear, Navigating the middle: Japan–Cambodia relations and the challenge of geopolitical competition, Khmer Rouge, Cambodia, Japan, United States, China, diplomacy, development, peacebuilding, foreign policy, agency, Great power rivalry, Tokyo, liberal values, Southeast Asia, defense diplomacy, Cambodia’s Ream base, 1991 Paris Peace Agreements, United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), Official Development Assistance (ODA), aid, bilateral donor, Sihanoukville, soft infrastructure, authoritarianism, Phnom Penh, Strategic Partnership, international norms, rule of law, maritime security, ASEAN, South China Sea, Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) framework, Yōko Kamikawa, human resource development, digital connectivity, climate change, US tariffs, transhipment, public debt, United Nations Human Rights Council, debt trap, European Union, “Everything But Arms” scheme, sanctions, democratic backsliding, Hun Manet, “multi-vector” diplomacy, Beijing, alignment, national interest, liberal internationalism, Belt and Road Initiative, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), civil society, Cultural diplomacy, Japan-Cambodia Kizuna Festival, Japanese pop culture, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, State of Southeast Asia surveys, Ream Naval Base, Vietnamese People’s Navy, South China Sea (SCS), multilateralisation, Cold War, Soviet, balancing, non-alignment, middle power, FDI, The Asia Foundation, Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC), Navigating the middle: Japan-Cambodia relations and the challenge of geopolitical competition

Evaluating South Korea's democratic backsliding

Written by Dr Mi-son Kim

The current state of South Korean politics suggests that the country is at a critical moment that could determine its fate: democratic backsliding or consolidation.

East Asia9DLOctober 9, 20239dashline, Evaluating South Korea's democratic backsliding, Dr Mi-son Kim, Park Geun-hye, South Korea, impeachment, abuse of power, corruption, Constitutional Court of Korea, candlelight protests, protests, demonstrations, democratic consolidation, President Park, partisan polarisation, concentration of power, Moon Jae-in, Yoon Suk-yeol, weak legislature, Park administration, opposition parties, Labour Reform Act, Service Industry Development Act, bipartisan bill, National Assembly Act, Saenuri Party, democratic transition, veto, Yoo Seung-min, cabinet appointments, presidential impeachment, Democratic Party, Supreme Prosecutor, Korean presidents, National Intelligence Service, Yoon administration, Han Dong-hoon, Park Geun-hye administration, personalist political systems, Kaesong Industrial Complex, North Korea, nuclear, US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, THAAD, Sewol ferry, Japan, hyper-partisan, hostile rhetoric, Lee Myung-bak, coercive state apparatuses, Board of Audit and Inspection, Anything but Moon (ABM), political volatility, democratic backsliding

2023: The future of CEE-China relations

9DASHLINE asked a select group of experts to assess Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries’ relations with China and how they expect them to evolve in 2023.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLJanuary 16, 20239dashline, 2023: The future of CEE-China relations, JUSTYNA SZCZUDLIK, VUK VUKSANOVIC, VALENTINA VENGUST, STEFAN VLADISAVLJEV, Central and Eastern European, CEE, China, 17+1, 14+1, Beijing, 2022, 2023, Russia, Ukraine, Russia-Ukraine war, PRC-CEE, PRC-CEE relations, economic cooperation, security concerns, critical infrastructure, high-tech industry, backsliding, democratic backsliding, coercion, Lithuania, EU common market, 'no-limits' friendship, Moscow, 16+1 summit, Huo Yuzhen, Estonia, Latvia, Jiang Yu, US, united states, Taiwan, security guarantor, NATO, China-CEE format, Czech Republic, Greece, Chinese investments, security concern, security guarantees, Washington, Belarus, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, Serbia, Hungary, Middle Corridor, Albania, North Macedonia, cooling-off period, joint statement, territorial integrity, sovereignty, diplomatic missions, Baltic countries, EU-China relations, China-CEE cooperation, cooperation mechanism, Sino-Serbian cooperation, territorial disputes, free trade agreement

In Brief: Perle Petit and Philip Lott, our new assistant editors

With a busy summer already behind them, our Editor-in-Chief, Dr Manali Kumar recently took the opportunity to learn more about their interests and their early thoughts on what makes a strong article.

In Brief9DLNovember 3, 20229DashLine, In Brief: Perle Petit and Philip Lott, our new assistant editors, Perle Petit, Philip Lott, democratic backsliding, authoritarianism, press freedom, freedom of the press, media freedom, Southeast Asia, democratic standards, independent media, journalists, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, The Philippines, elections, technologies, artificial intelligence, Indo-Pacific, digital transformation, social media, semiconductors, semiconductor supply chains, Pakistan, South Asia, separatist movements, Balochistan, US drone war, Kashmir conflict, Russia-Ukraine war, climate change, droughts, floods, health crisis, disinformation, Thailand, 'information chaos', foreign interference, propaganda, opposition parties, illiberal governments, opposition coalitions, city diplomacy, urban development, innovation hubs, population density, climate change mitigation

India at 75 — Still a postcolonial poster child for democracy?

Written by Manali Kumar

Although unique in its particular causes, India’s democratic backsliding is part of a global trend. Like other polities, India too needs new ideas if it is to overcome this divisive, fascist turn in its politics.