
Indonesian presidential candidates Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo both have the capacity to bend Indonesia’s arc of history—but each in a different direction.

Narendra Modi’s accession as India’s new prime minister raises questions about the future of India-Bangladesh relations. Modi’s predecessor enjoyed a strong relationship with Dhaka, although he did not conclude key agreements on border demarcation and water sharing.

In the upcoming elections, Indonesians will not merely be choosing between two very different leaders. They will be choosing between two very different futures.

On July 9 Indonesians will go to the polls to elect their next president for a five-year term, after a decade of steady—albeit recently slowing—growth.

In Southeast Asia, political dynamics appear to be outrunning political institutional frameworks. Although Thailand is the obvious case, political systems in other Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore, are also under strain.

Myanmar’s government needs a reform strategy that supports the financial sector’s rapid development while ensuring its stability, efficiency, and accessibility.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is placing a high priority on his country’s diplomacy in Southeast Asia, and policy coordination in the region is now firmly on the U.S.-Japan alliance agenda following last month’s Obama-Abe summit.

Former President B.J. Habibie led Indonesia’s democratization process beginning in 1998, making bold reforms toward political openness and decentralization. Thanks in part to his efforts, Indonesia is emerging as one of Asia’s foremost democracies and rising powers.

Rising democracies are becoming key players in global democracy promotion, but they often struggle to detach the external support they provide from their own transition experiences.

Thailand’s coup is rooted in the clash between the rising voice of the rural poor and the established power of the Bangkok elite. The resolution of this clash will determine the character of Thai democracy.