Dear readers,

From today New Mandala is taking a few weeks off for the Australian summer holidays. Emails to our editors will get a response from 9 January 2023.

It’s been another huge year at New Mandala, and I hope that readers found the site to be a useful resource. On behalf of former editor Elly Kent, who managed New Mandala for almost all of 2022, and everybody else involved behind the scenes here, I’d like to extend a special thanks to all of the contributors who took the time from their busy schedules to contribute to the public debate on Southeast Asian affairs.

For many of us in the Asia Pacific this is the first Christmas and new year celebrations where international travel has been a possibility, and I’m sure there are many readers who are reuniting with loved ones after being apart for too long. Whether they’re at home or away, New Mandala wishes all of our readers a safe and relaxing break, and look forward to bringing you more new perspectives on Southeast Asia in 2023.

Liam Gammon | the editor

New Mandala’s top 10 most read in 2022

1: “Red-tagging as a human rights violation in the Philippines” by Teo S. Marasigan

2: “COVID-19 and a new social contract for education in the Philippines” by Chester Yacub and Pauline Eadie

3: “We need to talk! Art, offence and politics in Documenta 15” by Wulan Dirgantoro and Elly Kent

4: “Effective third-sector actors in aid on the Thailand-Myanmar border” by Maung Oak Aww [pseudonym]

5: “Thailand’s long-anticipated submarine deal has hit yet another snag” by Zachary Abuza

6: “Digital contention in post-coup Myanmar” by Megan Ryan and Van Tran

7: “A ‘Pangulo’ ideology: leader-centrism and the return of a Marcos presidency” by Matthew Ordoñez and Anthony Lawrence Borja

8: “Brewing for democracy: digital activism & the #MilkTeaAlliance” by Maggie Shum

9: “Myanmar’s anti-junta forces are terrorists, says the Institute for Economics and Peace” by Dorothy Mason