In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

With ongoing tensions in Northeast Asia – North Korea threatening war, pervasive struggles over island territory, and disputes over history and trade – there is a temptation to grow impatient with dialogue and diplomacy. But for more than 60 years, economic growth, peace, and stability in this region…

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Democratic transition in Burma (also known as Myanmar) has, despite ongoing violent ethnic conflicts, been surprisingly rapid and encouraging. The world is watching in anticipation to see whether these developments will result in greater political participation and economic opportunity for the nation’s people.

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Democratic transition in Burma/Myanmar has so far been peaceful, rapid, and encouraging. The world is watching in anticipation to see whether these developments will result in greater political participation and economic opportunity for the nation’s people. On April 2 at California State University in Sacramento, Asia Foundation President David Arnold joins the University’s distinguished experts, [...]

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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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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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Karl Eikenberry, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan and Asia Foundation trustee, wrote in an op-ed in the Financial Times that, “Afghanistan’s future is of course uncertain. Lower levels of international support will inevitably place stress on its security forces, depress the economy…

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In the 60 years since The Asia Foundation began, the global development landscape and accompanying aid architecture has changed dramatically. Tackling the challenge of global poverty reduction seems to be on track. In the early 1980s, more than half of people in developing countries lived in extreme poverty.

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“Even places that have been experiencing fairly steady and robust growth during the time of global economic recession are not immune to the popular pressures and demands for accountable, transparent, and responsive governance,” said Asia Foundation President David D. Arnold at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney last week. Listen to his Lowy [...]

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Over the last months, the world has watched as uprisings and revolutions have spread across the streets and squares of the Arab world. In Egypt, entire families – mothers, wives, daughters, grandmothers, showed remarkable courage in standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their brothers, sons, and fathers…

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As uprisings continue across North Africa and the Middle East, Asia Foundation President David D. Arnold will speak on May 4 at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, examining what the “Arab Spring” might mean for Asia. As a governance specialist whose international career has spanned Arab and Asian societies, Mr. Arnold will examine [...]

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