In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

On March 13, former Asia Foundation president and member of Congress, Douglas Bereuter, will take on one of the world’s most critical challenges – global poverty and food sustainability – at the annual Matsui Lecture at UC Berkeley. Among other achievements, Bereuter is well-known for his for global hunger and agriculture initiatives, and started the [...]

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New Asia Foundation trustee Clare Lockhart, author of the acclaimed book, Fixing Failed States: A Framework for Rebuilding a Fractured World and co-founder (with Dr. Ashraf Ghani) of the Institute for State Effectiveness (ISE), spoke with In Asia editor Alma Freeman on state effectiveness, Afghanistan’s unsung progress, engaging youth for change, and why we are living on the cusp of a third industrial revolution.

A Foreign Affairs article on the 2012 Failed States Index claims that, “most countries that fall apart … do so not with a bang but with a whimper.” What are your thoughts on this statement?

There are examples of seemingly gradual deterioration: where a vicious cycle of state weakness generates a spiral of decline, with deepening corruption and reducing public service, leading to an increasing loss of trust from the population. We’ve seen this in countries including Haiti, Somalia, Liberia, and Zimbabwe.

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Over the last few weeks, in our blog, our studies, in well-respected surveys, at think tanks and other organizations, and the media, the topic of corruption and transparency seems to be everywhere you look. However, there seems no clear consensus on the extent of the problem…

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This week, the International Policy, Development and Practice Speaker Series [at UC Berkeley] welcomed David D. Arnold, the President of The Asia Foundation. Seen through the lens of his work at The Asia Foundation, Mr. Arnold delivered a talk on “Asia’s Development Challenges.”

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On February 26, leading foreign affairs experts will participate in a panel discussion, co-sponsored by The Asia Foundation along with host Asia Society of Northern California, on the rise of Asia, America’s pivot to Asia, and what this means for the U.S. and countries in the region.

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Violence in Southern Thailand escalated this week when a roadside bomb killed five soldiers, and gunmen stormed a military base, reigniting a decades-old conflict that has plagued the region and left more than 5,000 dead. For context on the conflict, see an Asia Foundation survey that gives rare insight into the citizens of the South, [...]

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On Saturday in Vientiane, Laos announced its full membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO is the global international organization that deals with the rules of trade between nations, with the goal of helping producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. The WTO puts it this way: WTO “agreements cover goods, services and intellectual property. They spell out the principles of liberalization, and the permitted exceptions. They include individual countries’ commitments to lower customs tariffs and other trade barriers, and to open and keep open services markets.” The process leading to approval for membership in the WTO often takes a country about five years and is a badge of marked economic achievement. For Laos, this effort has taken 15 years.

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Mongolia’s economy is booming, with growth trajectories showing it will be one of the world’s fastest growing economies again this year. It is consistently advancing in global rankings on governance and investment climate.

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Over the weekend, academics and practitioners from across the U.S. gathered at the University of Southern California for a conference that aimed to challenge some of the bedrock assumptions and rhetoric that underpin the movement against trafficking in persons.

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Consider this: In 2013, Asia remains the fastest growing region in the world, home to 3.9 billion people, or about 56 percent of the world’s population. Of the world’s 23 megacities, 12 are found in Asia. At the same time, Asia is home to roughly two-thirds of the world’s poor…

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