INASIA
Weekly Insights and Analysis
By the Numbers: Freedom of Expression and Voter Turnout in Afghan Elections
The success of democratic governance in Afghanistan is threatened by Afghans’ declining sense of personal safety, particularly when expressing opinions in public. Because there is a direct link between perceived safety, willingness to speak freely in public, and the decision to vote, the government must find ways to address this insecurity for democratic elections and representative government to succeed in Afghanistan.
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Pakistan’s Water: A Political-Economy Perspective
Pakistan receives average rainfall of not more than 250mm per year, making it one of the most arid and most water-stressed countries on the planet. A 2016 WaterAid report estimates Pakistan’s annual water availability at 1,017 cubic meters per person, compared to 5,000 cubic meters per person in 1950. If current trends continue, the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources warns, Pakistan will find itself at absolute water scarcity by 2025.
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Seven Takeaways on Asian Approaches to Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding
Despite rapid economic growth, conflict has persisted in many parts of Asia. Peacebuilding efforts have often focused on the role that Western nations or multilateral bodies can play in supporting statebuilding to build peace. South-South cooperation emphasizes supporting peacebuilding efforts in partner countries by drawing on a country’s own relevant experience.
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Developing a Moral Compass by Understanding the Human Condition and Appreciating Differing Perspectives: Asia Foundation Trustee Tim Kochis
In his wide-ranging career, Asia Foundation Trustee Tim Kochis has been a nationally prominent wealth manager and strategic consultant, a six-time author, a philanthropist, and an educator. At U.C. Berkeley, where he cofounded the university’s personal financial...
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Nepalese Labor Migration—A Status Report
Like so many citizens in countries facing shrinking economic opportunities at home, many Nepalis have sought employment abroad, and international labor migration has become an accepted avenue for economic growth, both for the individual and for the nation. Nepal’s...
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Indonesia: Normalizing Intolerance
The stunning, 2017 electoral defeat of Jakarta’s popular, non-Muslim governor, and his subsequent imprisonment for blasphemy, caught most Indonesians off guard. Indonesia was built on the premise of pluralism, writes Asia Foundation country director Sandra Hamid, and...
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Seven Questions to Consider When Promoting Gender Justice in Sri Lanka
In October 2016, The Asia Foundation’s Sri Lanka office began a project to make that country’s formal justice system more responsive to victims of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Seventeen months later, and after five decades of working with security and...
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No Progress without Justice for the Urban Poor in Postwar Sri Lanka
On a hot, sunny afternoon, a group of young development professionals follows Iromi Perera around the city of Colombo on an educational tour. Their focus is urban governance rather than tourism, and the sightseeing highlights modernity and change. Cranes and high-rise...
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Managing Change in Myanmar: Policymaking after Dictatorship
As Myanmar’s fitful democratic transition moves forward, many observers are torn between early, high hopes for the end of military rule and a growing pessimism about wider democratic, economic, and social reforms. In the international community, much of this pessimism...
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