Democracy

In early 2015 the Thai military government announced to establish various Special Economic Zones in border areas. There, the military uses its absolute powers to secure disputed plots for investment.

You are a journalist from Myanmar, Thailand or Cambodia? Apply now for a one-week-workshop organized by the taz-Panter-foundation and the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin in September 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.

The LGBT Movement in Thailand has struggled over the past two decades in applying a holistic human-rights-based approach as a strategy to achieve its goals. This article analyzes the fledgling relationship between the state and the multifaceted LGBT movements in light of a rapidly changing political landscape.

In an interview, Ven. Dhammananda Bhikkhunī, the first fully ordained Thai Theravada Buddhist nun, speaks about the struggle for female ordination in Thailand and expresses her hopes for progress.

In August 2015 the Bersih 4 rally drew thousands of protesters to the streets who demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak. Where draws the movement its supporters from and how is it in ethnically diverse Malaysia percepted? Which challenges lie ahead?

Shrinking – closing – no space: Governments across all continents villainize civil society actors. Where does their sense of threat emanate from?

Migrant workers in the Asean Region live and work under inhumane conditions. To improve this situation policies, the migration industry and the accountability of employers must all get a lot more attention.

Refugees in Southeast Asia live in legal limbo and are subject to harassment, arrest, and detention. Especially Rohingya refugees are in indefinite detention and have been forgotten by the international media.

In times of increased ASEAN economic integration the official rhetoric around migration is one of free labour markets, opportunities and exchange. However, there are indications that ASEAN's migration management is in fact a "politics of return".