Blog
The blog echoes the remit of the RSAA, covering current affairs, culture, travel, exploration and recent history from the Levant to East Asia.
Opinions expressed in posts are those of the contributor, not of the RSAA.
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Another Juncture in Indonesia’s Democratic Consolidation
Edbert Gani Suryahudaya is a PhD student at the University of Toronto and a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies Indonesia On 22 May 2019, a furious crowd of protesters stormed the office of Indonesia’s Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) in response to the recently announced election results that granted Joko Widodo (Jokowi)…
Congress’ Growing New-Old Conundrum: Complicating Prospects of Opposition Unity in India
Soumyadeep Chowdhury is a postgraduate candidate in political science at St. Xavier’s College, University of Calcutta Since 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won more elections than it has lost, returning with an even larger majority in the 2019 polls, signalling a paradigmatic shift in Indian politics away from multi-party coalition politics. However, its…
Rapid Reforestation in Nepal
Lt Col (Retd) Philip Holmes OBE, Founder and CEO of Pipal Tree Pipal Tree and its Nepal implementing partners, Mithila Wildlife Trust (MWT) and Lily’s Leaves have been pioneering the use of the rapid-reforestation Miyawaki Method in Nepal since December 2021. The results have been dramatic – far exceeding our expectations – but does this…
The Gardener of Lashkar Gah
An interview with author Larisa Brown about her new book The Gardener of Lashkar Gah, the powerful true story of the Afghans left behind as the Taliban retook Afghanistan.
“Mirror Image: A Transformation of Chinese Identity” – Notes on an exhibition at New York’s Asia Society Museum
Jenny Wu On June 15, 2022, the art exhibition Mirror Image: A Transformation of Chinese Identity opened at Asia Society Museum in New York. The exhibit featured seven artists born in China in the ’80s who work in new media, performance, and installation. Curated by Barbara Pollack, the author of the 2018 book Brand New…
Curriculum Reform and Diversification in Rural Nepal
Charlie Mackenzie Portlock, Chairman, Partners for Progress Nepal is home to the most formidable mountain range in the world. It annually welcomes upwards of a million tourists to engage in adventurous sports, trekking and to visit its remarkable UNESCO world heritage sites. Its unique culture, hospitality and environmental diversity make it an attractive tourist destination…
Damage Control: Kazakhstan after the January 2022 Crisis
Professor Charles J Sullivan, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan In early January 2022, the Republic of Kazakhstan (once regarded for its political stability and economic development in a conflict-prone and impoverished region) suffered an unexpected and unprecedented bout of political violence. Based upon my initial analysis elsewhere, it appears that “an elite faction within the government seized…
Research, Reform, and Renaissance in Uzbekistan’s Cultural Heritage
Sophie Ibbotson, a Trustee of the RSAA, reports on progress in combatting cultural theft Indiana Jones built his reputation single-handedly rescuing priceless antiquities from villainous grave robbers. But his real-life counterparts fighting the lucrative international trade in illicitly trafficked artefacts are a far more diverse crowd drawn from law enforcement agencies, museums, academic institutions, and…
MAKING THE PAST SERVE THE PRESENT: THE SILK ROAD AND CHINA’S QUEST FOR IMPERIAL REJUVENATION
DR BIJAN OMRANI, EDITOR OFÂ ASIAN AFFAIRS, THE RSAA JOURNAL, REPORTS ON THE LATEST ONLINE EXPERT DISCUSSION On 6 January, the RSAA was addressed by Eyck Freymann, a US scholar currently at Balliol College Oxford, on the Chinese presentation and ideology behind its One Belt One Road (or Belt and Road) initiative. Freymann is the author…
HONG KONG: FROM PROTEST TO PERDITION? WHERE NEXT FOR ONE COUNTRY TWO SYSTEMS?
Dr Bijan Omrani, Editor of Asian Affairs, the RSAA journal, reports on the latest online expert discussion On 27th November, the RSAA hosted an online panel discussion about the latest developments in Hong Kong. The panellists were Martin Purbrick, a former HK police officer and writer of several articles for Asian Affairs who has just taken…
Forced Labour in Xinjiang: Can Western Companies be Held to Account?
Nick Kenny looks at the scope in national and international law for responses to human rights abuses in Xinjiang As has become routine the last few years, yet again in 2020 we have heard worrying reports concerning China’s alleged mistreatment of its Uyghur population. For several years there have been stories of how Chinese authorities…
Breakthrough or Breakdown: Thailand’s Latest Political Pandemonium
Dr Bijan Omrani, Editor of Asian Affairs, the RSAA Journal, reports on this week’s online expert discussion On 18th November, the Society was addressed online by Dr Paul Chambers of Naresuan University, Thailand. Dr Chambers spoke to the Society directly from Bangkok, just a few streets away from where pro-democracy protests were actively taking place….
After the elections: where next for US/Asia relations?
Dr Bijan Omrani, Editor of the Asian Affairs Journal, reports on this week’s RSAA online expert panel discussion. The day after the US presidential election (Wednesday 4th November, when the final results were still unknown), the RSAA hosted an online panel discussion with four experts on US-Asia policy to discuss what direction the relationship between…
Silence in Hong Kong: a Focused Purpose Achieved
Angus Forsyth responds to Martin Purbrick’s 6 July blog with an alternative view of the imposition of the National Security Law in Hong Kong. As everybody worldwide now knows, we in Hong Kong are now subject to a new Hong Kong Basic Law Schedule 2 Supplemental Enactment by the National People’s Congress of China to…
As silence is imposed, freedom is a whisper in Hong Kong
Martin Purbrick looks at the impact of the Safeguarding National Security law in Hong Kong At 11.00pm on 30 June 2020, Hong Kong people were silenced by the Chinese Communist Party and the concept of One Country Two Systems ended. At that time the new national “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding…
In Afghanistan, Coronavirus Threatens More Than a Medical Catastrophe
Rupert Stone looks at the likely impact of coronavirus in Afghanistan and anticipates worrying consequences reaching far beyond the medical challenge On Eid this year, a bizarre scene unfolded in eastern Afghanistan. Government officials, led by the national security advisor, prayed at the grave of former socialist president and secret police chief, Mohammad Najibullah….
China’s Responsibility for the Covid-19 Crisis – Should we be cautious about pursuing it through the courts? – Nick Kenny
Nick Kenny holds a master’s degree from the University of Oxford, and is now studying at the University of Law in LondonThe UK is approaching 40,000 deaths, the USA has passed 100,000, and the world has reached the 350,000 mark. Recession and severe economic downturn seem inevitable, if not already here. Individuals and leaders have…
The Singapore Circuit-Breaker: COVID-19 in a City State
Eleanor Thorp has shared this view of the successes and uncertainties of Singapore’s life with the coronavirus pandemic 24 May 2020 Singapore did not lockdown officially, we embarked upon a circuit breaker. Following a couple of months of global praise for its official response with contact tracing and isolation the key tactics, and relative calm…