As cellphones and the internet have reached the farthest corners of Southeast Asia, violent groups and their supporters are increasingly turning social media into a new front in that region’s festering subnational conflicts.
Preventing violent extremism is typically seen as a task for government security agencies, and yet civil society organizations also play a vital role. From community networks operating at the grassroots…
Online spaces are the new frontier of conflict and violence in Southeast Asia. With the rapid spread of mobile broadband, inexpensive smartphones, online social networks, and messaging applications, the internet…
Myanmar’s Northernmost region, a zone of long-term violent conflict, rising geopolitical tensions, and great natural resource wealth, has thus far been spared the worst of Covid-19, but maintaining these positives…
Civil society organizations in Southeast Asia have responded swiftly to the pandemic, in many cases more nimbly than governments. But civil society is also struggling to cope in a time of emergency government powers and shrinking civic spaces.
Among the damaging legacies of Sri Lanka’s decades of civil conflict has been the erosion of trust between citizens and police officers in communities across the country. This was particularly…
As the National League for Democracy concludes its first term in government, peacebuilding in Myanmar is at a crossroads. With another election approaching, conflict increasing, and instability compounded by Covid-19, this is a crucial time to reimagine a future peace and how Myanmar can achieve it.
Across Southeast Asia, civil society organizations (CSOs) are supporting Covid-19 response efforts in a multitude of ways. In some contexts, they are providing healthcare, social protections, and welfare-related services, often…
This Manual is the outcome of findings of comprehensive need assessments, observation visits, and expert panel consultations conducted in the three cities of Bhopal, Gwalior, and Jodhpur where police officials,…
This research paper describes the many ways that individuals and families living in refugee camps in Bangladesh cope with hardship and life in displacement. It presents new information on family…
In July, Nepal’s national parliament passed the most important single law in that nation’s young federal system. Will the flawed but vital legislation mark the start of a new era of governance, or will it be lost in the dungeons of Nepal’s imperfect policies of the past?
Don Pathan is a senior program officer for Regional Security Cooperation at The Asia Foundation, Thailand, with over 20 years of professional experience working in international relations, transnational crime, drugs…