New Mandala and the Tifa Foundation

ELECTIONS, CIVIL SOCIETY, AND SOUTHEAST ASIA'S CRISES OF DEMOCRACY

Since 2017, New Mandala, with support from the Tifa Foundation, the Indonesian affiliate of the Open Society Foundations, has hosted an ongoing expert conversation on the causes and consequences of mounting challenges to democratic space in Southeast Asia. Editors’ note: all opinions contained in materials in this series are the authors’ own, and are not meant to represent those of the Tifa Foundation or the Australian National University.

Where in the world is Cambodia?

The international community needs to take seriously the scepticism of many Cambodians about its intentions.

ELECTIONS WITHOUT DEMOCRACY?

COMPLICATING CIVIL SOCIETY

Rethinking Southeast Asian civil society

It’s past time for us to ditch simplistic ideas of “civil society” and its relationship with democracy in the region.

Civic structures and uncivil demands in Indonesia

Looking at Indonesia's grassroots neighbourhood associations helps us understand the perils of aligning civil society with elite interests.

Indonesia’s regions a test bed for civil society influence

Nearly two decades of decentralisation have shown the promise and challenges for Indonesia's civil society.

Wielding the purse strings of Southeast Asian civil society

Illiberalism at home, and pro-market ideologies abroad, are putting pressure on Southeast Asian civil society organisations' financial health.

REGIONAL TRENDS

Old dominance, new dominoes in Southeast Asia

Democracy in the region finds itself in dark days. Can anything save it?

Assessing the Rohingya crisis

With the expulsion of the Rohingya largely a fait accompli, the world must face up to engaging with a very different Myanmar.

INDONESIA’S CHALLENGES

Nahdlatul Ulama and the politics trap

A pillar of Indonesian civil society faces an ever more acute dilemma between representing a religious community and securing resources and influence within government.

Twenty years of Indonesian democracy—how many more?

Two decades after Suharto’s fall, it’s hard to see a return to dictatorship—or to declare the democratic status quo safe.

Disinformation and democracy in Indonesia

Crackdowns on ‘fake news’ producers aren’t enough—Indonesian voters need better journalism and greater digital literacy.

CAMBODIA AFTER THE CRACKDOWN

Cambodia haunted by mistakes of interventions past

What we see today in Cambodia is a direct outcome of the events of 1997, and the world’s feeble response then.

Gareth Evans on confronting Hun Sen

Read the former Australian foreign minister's remarks made at the "Cambodia on the Brink" conference in Canberra.

What should the region do about Cambodia’s crackdown?

A discussion on how Australia, ASEAN, and the world might support democracy and human rights in Cambodia.

Civil society and the media after Hun Sen’s crackdown

A discussion about how civil society organisations and the media are adapting to growing authoritarianism in Cambodia.

Lee Morgenbesser on Hun Sen

A quick interview with a scholar of authoritarianism on what's over the horizon for Cambodia after Hun Sen's 2017 crackdown on the opposition.

An interview with Mu Sochua

The public face of Cambodia's exiled CNRP leadership on surviving and regrouping after Hun Sen's crackdown.

A new partnership with the TIFA Foundation

A frank discussion on civil society and Southeast Asia's crisis of democracy.