We look back on the past year and share our key takeaways and points of reflection. From elections to learning to appreciate comradeship, we talk about what the past year means for us as progressives.
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24 years since the end of the Suharto regime, Indonesia has been able to successfully embrace democratic governance. While social and political challenges remain, the country has largely have had peaceful elections and stable governments. In this episode, with Sondang Tampubolon, an Indonesian legal expert to talk on the successful transformation of Southeast Asia’s largest country from an authoritarian regime into a stable democracy in Asia.
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On this episode we discuss the political terrain in Nepal going into their general elections with Nepali journalist Yubaraj Ghimire. We discuss the political players and actors in the elections as well as the issues and concerns of voters that will play a pivotal role in their choice. We also discuss the prospects of the Nepali Congress in this election.
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Is there a resurgence of progressive politics in Latin America? We talk with Esteban Paulon, Coordinator of the Progressive Alliance of the Americas (APLA) on the recent trend of electoral victories of progressive candidates such as Gabriel Boric in Chile and Gustavo Petro in Colombia, and the first place finish of Luis Inacio Lula da Silva in the first round of the Brazilian presidential elections. We also break down how authoritarian and populist rightwing currents are making headway in the region and what kind of social vision is being offered by Leftwing parties and candidates to counter rightwing politics not just in Latin America but also across the globe.
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We talk with Howard Lee to talk about the ramifications of the conviction of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on the country's politics, its effect on the people's trust in government and anti-corruption efforts. We also discuss how this will affect the upcoming Malaysian General Elections.
Howard is a member of the Perak State Legislative Assembly for the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and a former President of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY).
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We talk with our Akbayan Citizen's Action Party President Rafaela David on the current context of the Philippine elections, what's at stake, the issues that voters will consider heading to the polls, and the grass-roots and volunteer-led campaign of the democratic opposition led by Vice President Leni Robredo and the prospects for the democratic left led by Akbayan in the Lower House of Parliament and by Senator Risa Hontiveros in the upper house.
We recorded this episode on the eve of the elections.
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Our guest Prof. Nathan Quimpo, a Filipino activist and academic, discusses with us the challenges that today's social democrats and progressives in Asia face today and the different factors that impede our movement to bring about progressive change in the region. We also talk about the possibilities that the changing political climate can bring about.
Prof. Quimpo is an associate professor of political science and international relations at the University of Tsukuba in Japan. He is author of Contested Democracy and the Left in the Philippines after Marcos.
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We talk with Wan Hamidi Hamid, a veteran of journalism and political communications and media advisor to and has been conducting basic political education on behalf of the Democratic Action Party. In this episode, we talk about the Malaysian politics and the influence of communal groups in its development. We also talk about the DAP's history as a progressive party and its journey in the past decades as the progressive political party and as an opposition to the long dominant United Malays Nationalist Organization (UMNO) Party. We also touch on more contemporary issues such as the historic victory of the Pakatan Harapan coalition of opposition parties and the current political system currently faces.
*This episode was recorded in 2021.
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On this episode we sit down with Robert Francis Garcia author of the books "To Suffer Thy Comrades" and "Of Maps and Leapfrogs", he is also a peace advocate and transitional justice advocate. He has led organizations such as Popular Education for People's Empowerment and Peace Advocates for Truth, Healing and Justice. We reflect on the legacy of the People Power Revolution in the Philippines that overthrew the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. what it means for Philippine society today, its shortcomings and possibilities. We also talk about the Philippine left movement and progressives' role in bringing this revolution about. Lastly, we confront the present dangers to the revolution's legacy, the growing nostalgia for the Marcos dictatorship and the upcoming presidential elections where the dictator's son is a candidate.
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We speak with Olle Törnquist, author of In Search of New Social Democracy: Insights from the South - Implications for the North and Professor of Political Science and Development Research at the University of Oslo. We talk to him regarding the fundamentals of social democracy especially its manifestation in the Asian region and the challenges it faced in the region, the diversity of groups that fall under the umbrella of social democracy and the experiments that succeeded in Asia. We also talk about why social democracy as movement continues to face huge challenges today.
You can buy In Search of New Social Democracy at www.bloomsbury.com. Use this code: GLRTW9UK for a discount on your purchase.
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On this last episode for 2021, we talk with Leena Rikkilä Tamang, Director for the Asia-Pacific of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) on the current state of Asian democracies and some key observations from the Global State of Democracy Report. We also discuss countries in the region that are able to strengthen democratic institutions and promote greater citizen’s participation and try to answer the question: Is there a place for regional or international cooperation in promoting democratization?
Visit International IDEA and learn more about their work: www.idea.int
You can download the Global State of Democracy 2021 Report here: https://www.idea.int/gsod/
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We will hear from lawyer and transitional justice advocate Ruben Carranza discuss the functions, scope of the International Criminal Court or ICC. We will talk about the challenges that victims and survivors face in relation to availing of the processes for seeking justice in the ICC as well as the limitations the court faces in exacting accountability. We will also discuss the various criticisms of the ICC itself and how the quest transitional justice goes beyond the framework of the court.
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After almost two years of a COVID pandemic, Japanese voters headed to the polls to vote for the government post-Shinzo Abe. As expected, the center-right Liberal Democratic Party or LDP once again dominated the polls with Fumio Kishida as the new Prime Minister. Despite the LDP’s electoral victory, opposition parties maintained a sizable number with the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) as the second largest party. Interestingly, the rightwing populist Japan Innovation Party also won additional seats.
We talk with academic of Japanese history Sven Saaler to discuss the historical context of Japan’s political parties to better understand how the LDP has maintained a strong grip over the country’s politics and why opposition parties especially those from the center-left or progressive segments of Japanese politics have largely failed to undermine the LDP’s hegemony. We also try to understand how Japan’s progressives can make a bid to win power in the country.
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We are joined by Dr. Sustarum Thammabosadee, Assistant Associate Professor in International Relations, College of Interdisciplinary Studies, Thammasat University. He is also the Director of the University's Welfare State and Justice Studies. We discuss Thailand's turbulent political history and social democracy's role in shaping democratic institutions in the country from the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in the 30s to the current fight to end the military's control over politics and the reform the monarchy. We also talk about the political and military elite's role in suppressing leftwing ideas and how such opposition from powerful forces affects current moves by social democrats especially those belonging to parties such as the Move Forward Party.
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On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the terror attack on the World Trade Center in New York, Afghanistan sees the Taliban now back in power. We are joined by Richard Heydarian, a geopolitical analyst, academic, columnist and author, to take a look back at the legacy of America's War on Terror and how the policies set by the United States and its allies continues to affect us today.
We also discuss how the world, especially Asia Pacific has been shaped and is to be shaped by the legacy of the War on Terror.
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We talk with Dr. Minendra Rijal, a former Minister of Communication and member of the Central Working Committee of the Nepali Congress (NC) to talk about the legacy of B.P. Koirala and how he was also inspired by Koirala's principles.
B.P. Koirala who led the NC, served as the country's first democratically elected Prime Minister after leading the movement to end the authoritarian rule of the Rana regime. His name and memory continues to inspire Nepalis to continue his struggle for social democracy in the country.
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We have a talk with Teo Nie Ching, Former Deputy Minister of Education, Member of Parliament and the International Secretary of the Democratic Action Party of Malaysia. We discuss the background leading up to the collapse of the government of former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and the appointment of his successor, Ismail Sabri Yakob. We talk about the dynamics within the ruling coalition and the Pakatan Harapan as well as the political crisis in the context of an economic crisis and health crisis due to the COVID pandemic.
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We have a talk with Sabina Dewan, Executive Director of Just Jobs Network about the Fourth Industrial Revolution or also known as "Industry 4.0" about what that means for societies, economies and workers in Asia. We also talk about the impacts of advancement in technologies on our education system, governments, workers' rights, and also on issues of privacy.
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