Waiting for Godot: Democratization in Southeast Asia

In Samuel Beckett’s famous absurdist play the two principal characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly in vain for the arrival of Godot. Observing politics in Southeast Asia one can often feel like Beckett’s two characters when it comes to waiting for democratic reforms and political liberalization. Frequently there are false dawns, and multiple setbacks but [...]

The Jasmine Revolution II: Will the revolution be tweeted?

One of the most talked about features of the recent wave of pro-democracy demonstrations and uprisings occurring across the Arab world, has been the role played by information communication technology and social networking software. Of the latter much has been made of the fact that protests were ‘advertised’ as forthcoming events on Facebook while Twitter [...]