Category: Global Politics
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Irrationalising the Rational
I technically have exams coming up, but having studied the whole day, I am clearly in no shape for any more revision. Besides, nothing can really stop me from writing… A search for “war” today in Google News today reveals a litany of scary headlines. “Rehearsing for war”, proclaims the New Statesman. “Can Trump do […]
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Chaotic Orthodoxy
This was not a blog post that I had intended to write at this juncture in time. What was in the queue was an overview of Thai politics. Instead, it is a sign of the fast turn of events that my last blog post became outdated within 24 hours of publication. Titled ‘Rock Bottom for […]
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Rock Bottom for Foggy Bottom
Rex Tillerson initially seemed like a solid pick for Secretary of State. Yes, he had received an odd medal from Putin, of all people, and yes, he had no experience in government. But he had also worked for decades at ExxonMobil, with its globe-spanning business interests, and he was no stranger to negotiating with foreign […]
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An American Autocracy?
Illiberal Democracy “Acta est fabula, plaudite.” These, according to the Roman historian Suetonius, were the last words of Augustus Caesar: “The play is over, applaud as I exit”. Augustus, of course, was not an actor; he was the first emperor of Rome. Or was he? It is well known to readers of history that Augustus […]
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World Disorder
It’s been a long year! This will be the 34th (and final) post that I publish this year. At the beginning of 2016, I began by writing about reconciliation in Thailand, whether the EU was on the verge of breakup and Ted Cruz’s victory in the Iowa caucuses. I could barely have predicted the events […]
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What Trump’s Triumph Means
The Big Chilli, an English language magazine for expatriates in Bangkok, has recently published my article on their website! IT was a long night on November 8th in the United States. A race that many had predetermined the outcome could still not be called with many swing states being neck and neck. But the result […]
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Donald Trump, President-Elect
“Veni, vidi, vici”, Julius Caesar once said after a successful battle: “I came, I saw, I conquered”. A fitting maxim, perhaps, for the most successful general of the ancient world, but also, surprisingly enough, for a billionaire businessman-turned amateur politician. Against the seventeen Republican candidates, Trump triumphed; against the Democratic nominee, he repeated the feat. […]
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The 2016 Election is Disheartening
Writing has not been something that I have done much of lately. It certainly hasn’t been because of a lack of possible content: world politics has certainly been incredibly interesting, arguably perhaps a little too interesting. Only lack of time can prevent me from blogging. But even with this lack of time, however, the second presidential […]
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Nuclear Despotate
On an otherwise typical day, a missile landed out of the blue in the sea. Not too close to Japan, of course; it still did not threaten the peace of the archipelago itself, but certainly it went well into its waters. Shot from the mainland, any observer unaware of Asian geopolitics would surely say that […]
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The Glass Ceiling Still Unshattered
It was a historic night when Hillary Clinton was crowned the nominee of the Democratic party. As Clinton finished her speech, as the balloons fell down, as the music started playing, everyone knew that this was the shattering of the “glass ceiling” that Clinton herself had spoken about in 2008, after losing the nomination to […]
Ken Lohatepanont 