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Michael Vatikiotis

Opinion | Diplomacy in the age of populism is fast, fickle and unbound by the rules of old

Swift, informal deals can quickly defuse crises, but without a new rules-based order, global stability is being held hostage to chance.

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The rise of China and growth in global polarity are affecting multilateralism, reflected in the UN’s declining influence as well as division and disunity in the Security Council.

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In trying to shape a regional response to the situation in Myanmar, Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi is following a deep historical precedent, but Jakarta faces a steep hurdle in getting its diplomacy to work.

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To prevent conflict amid the US-China rivalry, new middle power configurations and bold diplomatic initiatives are in order, writes Michael Vatikiotis.

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A sharp increase in US-China rivalry has shifted the focus of geopolitical competition to Asia, but which areas will the two powers devise as their proxy battlefields?

As the going gets tough in the coronavirus battle, Southeast Asian countries that had embraced democratic reforms are falling back on militaries that still command extensive networks of power and influence.

In the capitals of what used to be called ‘the free world’, advocacy of democratic freedom seems to have taken a back seat to competition for strategic primacy.

President Joko Widodo has much to reflect on as he is sworn in for his second term today. After weeks of unrest in Papua, student protests, forest fires and a knife attack on a minister, here is how he could turn the tide.

The story of Indonesia’s 2019 election is one of two countries. In one, an aspiring, urban middle class frets about the erosion of diversity; in the other, rural conservative Muslims aspire to a caliphate.

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Related Topics
US-China relationsRohingya MuslimsMyanmarHuman rightsIndonesiaUnited StatesDiplomacyAsia electionsCoronavirus pandemicUS-China decoupling