ABS-CBN Struggles to Stay as 'Kapamilya Forever' Published: 23 May 2020 Article The recent shutdown of broadcast giant ABS-CBN is but one of the pieces of mounting evidence—arguably the most damning—of how fragile the state of media freedom in the Philippines has become under President Rodrigo Duterte. By Yvonne T. Chua
The Twists and Turns of Coalition Politics in Timor-Leste and Malaysia: Are We Moving to the Right Direction? Published: 18 March 2020 Article On 24 February, Mahathir Mohamad, the 7th prime minister of Malaysia resigned unexpectedly followed by a week-long political fiasco in the form of ‘betrayal’ with lawmakers jumping ship to one another. On 25 February, the prime minister of Timor-Leste, Taur Matan Ruak sent a letter of resignation dated 24 February to the president, Francisco “Lu-Olo” Guterres By Khoo Ying Hooi
Jokowi’s Triumph in the 2019 Presidential Election and the Future of Binary Politics Published: 6 June 2019 Article On 17 April 2019, Indonesia held the world’s largest, and arguably most complicated, one-day election involved presidential, legislative (national and local), and senate elections – done simultaneously. Voters’ attention, however, was largely on the presidential election, which led to a turnout of 81%, the highest in Indonesia’s electoral history in the post-reform era. By Deasy Simandjuntak
Southeast Asia: Where Democracy is Much More Than A Vote Published: 7 November 2018 Podcast Welcome to this podcast by the Heinrich Böll Foundation. It is part of the ’State of Democracy in Southeast Asia’ series, and this is your host, Johanna Son. In this episode, we take a look at the elections lined up in the region. Can democratic mechanisms like elections lead to more authoritarian rule? We step back to look at what this trend says about the quality of the democracies in our midst. By Johanna Son
The LGBT community: Youngest stepchild? Published: 11 January 2017 In late November 2016, rainbow colors broke through the black of mourning found everywhere in Bangkok, as 700 activists and allies from around the world arrived to participate in the largest ever world conference of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA). By Dédé Oetomo and Rosalia Sciortino
The Civic Charter: Another Passing Fad or the Missing Link? Published: 21 November 2016 A Keynote on the Civic Charter at its Launch at the Global Perspectives Conference on 26th October 2016 in Berlin. By Arthur Larok
The Future of Civic Space: Towards a Re-solidarisation and Re-politisation of Civil Society Published: 27 October 2016 Civil society space is under attack worldwide. In her welcoming speech to the Global Perspectives Conference, Barbara Unmüßig urged 160 representatives of civil society organisations from around the globe to stand in solidarity with each other and to put the issue of shrinking and closing spaces back on the political agenda. By Barbara Unmüßig
Democracy must be fought for and renewed Published: 6 June 2016 People want democracy. The surveys show anywhere in the world. But what is the right way to help people on the way to a better life in a liberal democracy? With years of active work in promoting democracy we support mainly dedicated people in the existing or emerging civil societies. By Barbara Unmüßig and Claudia Rolf
The Return of Repression: Closing and Shrinking Spaces Published: 11 May 2016 Governments around the world are taking draconian steps to suppress civil-society organizations, with measures ranging from restrictive laws and bureaucratic burdens to smear campaigns, censorship, and outright repression by intelligence agencies or police. By Barbara Unmüßig
