Inside Asia

In September 2026, residents of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines will head to the polls to elect the region's parliament. This marks a landmark step in the BARMM peace process, as the region moves past decades of insurgency and political violence. Still, substantial challenges remain. The elections have already been delayed multiple times due to planning diffi...

On February 12, Bangladesh went to the polls for the first elections since the country's student-led July 2024 uprising that forced Sheikh Hasina's Awami League from power. The elections were a decisive victory for the Bangladesh National Party, but also pointed to future influence for Jamaat-e-Islami and uncertain next steps for the country's student movement. Voters also approved substantial con...

In September 2025, "Gen-Z Protests" fueled by frustrations with governance, corruption and economic opportunity toppled Nepal's government. As the country's interim leaders prepare for March elections, questions remain about addressing the root causes of youth frustration. The country has made substantial progress since its civil war, but much work remains. Dr. Annamaria Prati (New York University...

Newly-arrived CAD doctoral fellow Khasan Redjaboev joins the pod to discuss his research on governance in Central Asia, with a special focus on Soviet colonial legacies in the region. What are the prospects for democratization in the region, and how do regimes maintain their legitimacy? How do Soviet-era agricultural policies continue to impact the region's politics, especially related to gender?...

Why did the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday celebrations get international headlines? The observances involved not only communal celebration, but also important announcements from the Dalai Lama about his future reincarnation, a matter of both spiritual and political significance. The future of the Dalai Lama is central not only to the Tibetan community, but also to Chinese interests and the balance of...

Why have protests provoked a violent reaction from Indonesia's government in the past month, and what does this teach us about the health of democracy in the world's largest Muslim-majority country? Protests drew on long-standing popular frustrations, but focused particular ire on proposed policy changes by President Prabowo Subianto. Prabowo has shuffled his cabinet in the face of popular anger,...

How do Buddhist monks impact politics across South and Southeast Asia? Buddhist nationalist movements have fueled democratic backsliding in places like Myanmar. Yet monks were among the pro-democracy protesters in Sri Lanka in 2022, setting the stage for that country's surprising 2024 elections. Other monastics may limit their political activities, for diverse reasons. Prof. Benjamin Schonthal (Un...

In early May, voters in the Philippines will head to the polls for the country's midterm elections. These races are always seen as a referendum on the incumbent president, and this year, they take on added importance given the pending impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte and the detention of her father, former-president Rodrigo Duterte, at the International Criminal Court. Prof. Nicole Curat...

In early December, South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol shocked the world by declaring martial law. The declaration was swiftly challenged in the legislature and reversed by the administration. Impeachment and criminal charges now face Yoon, and the country confronts entrenched polarization. Prof. Sanghoon Kim-Leffingwell , Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas, joins the pod to disc...

In late-November, several dozen pro-democracy activists received criminal sentences in Hong Kong. Pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai is in the midst of his individual criminal trial. The trials and convictions reflect the latest stage of Beijing's crackdown, which reached a new stage under the 2020 national security law. Dr. Yan-ho Lai (Eric), research fellow at Georgetown Center for Asian Law (G...

On October 27th, Japan’s voters headed to the polls for a snap election called by the ruling coalition. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the country’s governing party and dominant power, under-achieved, dogged by financial scandal and low voter enthusiasm. Prof. Charles McClean (Yale University) joins the pod to discuss the likely future of the LDP coalition, the opposition politicians who had...

In August 2021, Kabul fell to Taliban forces, as the militant groups finalized its return to power in Afghanistan. Three years later, how does Taliban governance compare to earlier periods in power? And what lessons are to be learned from the failure of the republic period in the country? Dr. Omar Sharifi (University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs) joins the pod with CAD research...

On September 21st, Sri Lankans headed to the polls for the country’s first presidential elections since the successful 2022 protests that forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from power. They elected Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of a Marxist-influenced party with a contentious past. Dr. Shamara Wettimuny (Oxford University) joins the pod from Colombo to discuss the post-election dynamics a...

On April 19, voters in India begin to head to the polls for national elections that will stretch through May. The incumbent BJP faces a new opposition alliance, again under the leadership of the Indian National Congress. What will the election signal about the overall health of democracy in the country? And how does the BJP, a party of Hindu nationalism, mobilize women into its political project?...

Dr. Ahmet Kuru of San Diego State University joins the pod to analyze the fusion of religion, nationalism and populism. How did this combination lead to his interrogation by security forces while on a trip to deliver scholarly lectures in Malaysia? And what lesson does this troubling incident hold for the broader relationship between religion and democracy, in Asia and beyond? Kuru on his "Malaysi...

Dr. Jayeel Cornelio, a visiting fellow at CAD, joins the pod to analyze the changing place of religion in Philippine politics. How have Catholic critics responded to the first eighteen months of Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s presidency? How does religion factor into reported tensions between the Marcos and Duterte camps? And how does religious nationalism in the Philippines compare to Christian nationalis...

Since February 2021, Myanmar has descended into one of the worst periods of its long-lasting civil war. Recent news reports indicate opposition gains on the battlefield, but what does it mean for the prospects for peace and democracy in the country? Professor Jacques Bertrand (University of Toronto) joins the pod to analyze the current prospects for political resolution.

Drs. Shahab Enam Khan and Geoffrey Macdonald join the pod to spotlight the stakes of Bangladesh's upcoming January 2024 election. It is a tense pre-election period, with the primary opposition party vowing a boycott over allegations of electoral manipulation on the part of the incumbent Awami League and some violence in the streets. What are the likely outcomes of this political strategy? And coul...

Dr. Levi McLaughlin joins the podcast to discuss how religion's role in Japanese politics factored into the 2022 assassination of Shinzo Abe. Grievances against a controversial religious movement motivated Abe's assassin, and subsequent legal fallout. McLaughlin discusses how the killing prompted public outcry about close relationships between political parties and various religious movements in t...

Dr. Taha Rauf joins the podcast to highlight the importance of local religious infrastructure in Indian democracy. Rauf is the new Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Asian Democracy, which he joined after recently completing his PhD at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on the religious institutions associated with India's ~200 million member Muslim minority. He contrasts the poli...

Dr. Niloufer Siddiqui joins the podcast to spotlight the stakes of Pakistan's recently announced January 2024 election. There is much uncertainty over the elections, most prominently the legal status of ousted populist leader Imran Khan. The country continues to confront a persistent economic crisis, and political violence remains a threat. Just before our taping, dozens died in terrorist attacks...

Dr. Ishani Dasgupta, Andrew W. Mellon HILLS postdoctoral Fellow in Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University, joins the podcast to update us on her recent fieldwork among Tibetan communities in India. Dasgupta recently completed her term as Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Asian Democracy, which supported her Summer 2023 return to the field. The conversation covers political changes wit...

Dr. Janjira Sombatpoonsiri joins the podcast to give us the inside scoop on the dynamics shaping Thailand's upcoming election. On May 14, 2023, voters in Thailand head to the polls for national elections. These elections mark the latest stage in the country’s turbulent politics, pitting military allies against opposition parties, most prominently the Pheu Thai Party, linked to exiled former Prime...

Jawad Patwal joins the podcast to reflect on the legacy of Afghanistan's period of democracy before the country's return to Taliban rule. Jawad Patwal was a Fulbright Scholar, and worked for a decade on democracy and governance in Afghanistan. This included staff work for a range of NGOs and international programs aiming to build good governance, rule of law, and gender equality in the country, as...

Steven Feldstein, the winner of the 2023 Grawemeyer Award for World Order, joins the Inside Asia Podcast to discuss his book The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance. Feldstein is a former State Department official, and currently Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In The Rise of Digital Repression , Feldstein document...