Autocrats are finding democratic facades hard to keep up
Covid19 is making dictatorship clearer as faking credible elections gets harder. Lee Morgenbesser from Griffith University shares his insights Read More
Topic-Politics
Governments, not pandemics, stop access to reproductive health
In response to the current pandemic, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has recommended that states adopt three strategic priorities: provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) to sexual and reproductive health care workers so clinics can remain open; continuation of services for gender-based violence as a first response health measure (to supply morning-after pills and treatment of STDs); and prioritising of contraceptive and reproductive health supplies. In short, the UNFPA is asking states to help sexual and reproductive clinics remain open and ensure that they are safe, legal spaces for women to access. Read More
Coronavirus in the Pacific: weekly briefing
Tess Newton Cain (Griffith Asia Institute) and Dan McGarry share this weeks update of covid19 in the Pacific. Read More
The quality of authoritarian rule in South East Asia
In his new book, 'The Rise of Sophisticated Authoritarianism in Southeast Asia", Dr Lee Morgenbesser shares his new theory and utilises a new dataset to describe how authoritarian rule in the region has evolved. Read More
Weekly Pacific Bulletin
TESS NEWTON CAIN | Barrick fallout continues In Papua New Guinea, the fallout from the government’s decision not to renew the mining license… Read More
Covid-19, Governance and the Role of the Opposition
The uncertainty about COVID-19 and its impact on our economies makes it even more important that governments do the right thing in terms of their policies. This crisis has already been a turning point for many countries. It has imposed new imperatives for policies, governance and accountability to ensure that scarce resources are utilised in a transparent and efficient manner so that the adverse impact on the quality of lives of our people can be cushioned. If we make mistakes in our response, in our preparedness for the post covid-19 scenario, then those mistakes would not be ones which can be corrected easily. They would be serious mistakes with potentially irreversible consequences. Read More
Can technology help Australians ‘get back to normal’ while maintaining social distancing?
After the covidsafe app was released yesterday, more than a million Australians downloaded the app. Can technology help Australians ‘get back to normal’ while maintaining social distancing? Read More
Is this the Kindleberger moment?
Covid-19 exposes a power vacuum where exceptionalism and tinfoil hat conspiracy theories go hand in hand. Read More
Weekly Pacific Bulletin
TESS NEWTON CAIN | Kiribati elections The two rounds of elections to decide the new Parliament have concluded. The Presidential elections will take… Read More
Even Xi not immune from politics of corona
Xi Jinping has his mojo back. Since his seeming struggle to respond coherently to the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan at the start of the year, China’s paramount leader appears to sense he is back on top of the world, that the future is in his hands. He has regained his political equilibrium and reverted to his regular stance in facing such challenges — he has gone on the attack, doubling down at home and abroad. Read More
