• East Asia

    Rodrigo Duterte: The ‘Moderately Successful’ Populist

    On a recent visit to Israel, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s confounding ability to surprise was on full display. Visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Israel in early September, he laid a wreath and said he could not imagine a country obeying an insane leader like Hitler: “I could not…

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  • Culture

    Kimchi festival to spice up Seoul

    Six thousand people will be invited to make kimchi in downtown Seoul over the weekend at the fifth Seoul Kimchi Festival. The annual festival will kick off at Seoul Plaza and nearby Mugyo-dong area on Friday through Sunday, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said. People in Korea have traditionally made a…

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  • East Asia

    Abe’s More Assertive Japan: Will He Defy Expectations Again?

    Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in power since 2012, has consistently defied expectations. He first came to the office in 2006, as the protégé and successor to Japan’s most popular and arguably most successful post-war prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi. By skilfully using a major electoral reform in 1994 and an…

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  • East Asia

    Indonesia Must Lead in the Indo-Pacific Region

    The notion of the Indo-Pacific region has experienced a contemporary revival and is now mentioned frequently in the capitals of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and elsewhere. In its simplest terms, the Indo-Pacific region covers the Pacific and Indian oceans. In recent years, China has introduced and promoted…

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  • East Asia

    South Korea: CEO’s brutal attack on ex-employee

    A video from a Korean investigative journalism team released Tuesday reveals the shocking moment a high-profile online business guru attacks a man at one of the companies he owns. In the video report jointly produced by News Tapa and its investigative team Sherlock, a former employee of Korean online file-sharing site WeDisk…

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  • East Asia

    Peace in Korea: Next Steps

    I thank the organizers of the Jeju Forum for giving me the opportunity to contribute to these important discussions. I am not an expert on Korea. I am sorry to say it, but I must admit that I do not even speak Korean, as all modern people should. I can…

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  • East Asia

    Neglected No Longer: Washington Returns to Central Asia

    Central Asia is not, and has never been, a United States foreign-policy priority. Neither will it displace the importance of other regions to Washington anytime soon. Moreover, numerous analysts discount it as a promising area for expanded attention. Indeed, they expect US and European presence and influence there to decline…

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  • East Asia

    Moon Jae-in and the Politics of Reform in South Korea

    One year and five months have passed since South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office. During this period, Moon’s democratic leadership style and spirit of service have lifted public morale and salved past wounds. In his inaugural address, he voiced his desire to become a president who communicates with the…

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  • Politics

    Nostalgia and Romanticism: Populism and the Rise of Identity Politics

    Politically, the world is more dangerous and unpredictable than it was just a couple of years ago. Seemingly overnight, following Britain’s unexpected vote on June 23, 2016, to withdraw from the European Union and the election of Donald Trump as US president in November of the same year, confidence in…

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  • Culture

    World Poets in the International Costa Rica Poetry Festival

      For the past sixteen years, the International Costa Rica Poetry Festival has enhanced the presence of poetry in the country’s capital; San Jose, and other cities of the country, leading up to the ocean tortoise city of Tortuguero. Audience has interacted with the event in its main cultural sectors…

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