30 Mar 2023
Paying for a new Thai democracy
The real winners are far from clear, but Thailand’s populist, party jumping election is Asia’s vote to watch this year.
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22 Mar 2023
Enter Cambodia’s Hun Manet
Numbers tell the story of a military leader working overtime on a leadership succession game plan. -
25 Jul 2022
Taking on Cambodia’s “Lady Liberty”
An American human rights lawyer sentenced to six years in a Phnom Penh prison may cause Hun Sen no end of trouble. -
16 May 2022
Diplomacy is indispensable to manage the Mekong
The goal of a healthy river won’t be helped by misreading the shared mission of the Mekong River Commission. -
12 Apr 2022
How the Mekong River Commission ignores reality
Nothing is worth celebrating in how a once mighty wild river has been cruelly tamed. -
20 Dec 2021
Hun Sen’s all-encompassing rule of Cambodia
The strongman has anointed his son as successor – after an election, of course. -
26 Nov 2021
Trouble on the Mekong
Countries along one of Asia’s longest rivers need to address the effects of climate change and overdevelopment. -
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11 Aug 2020
Cambodia: Hard choices
Punishment for democratic backsliding might force Hun Sen’s government closer to China – but not without cost. -
11 Aug 2020
Chinese dams and the Mekong drought
The environmental impact of China’s dam building upstream is undeniable. The silence from some quarters is surprising. -
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3 Jul 2020
Southeast Asian democracies in declining health amid Covid-19
An illiberal turn across the region has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Australia should take note. -
26 Jun 2020
Hun Manet: A Cambodian dynasty?
The eldest son of Prime Minister Hun Sen is being groomed to take over, but still has to convince key political players. -
17 Jun 2020
Cambodia: Caught in the middle
As it navigates a post-Covid recovery, Cambodia needs to strike a balance between the US and China. -
12 Jun 2020
Thailand: Another dissenter disappears
A fresh abduction case raises serious questions, not for the first time, about the reach of Thai authorities. -
27 May 2020
Another pearl in China’s string?
Plans in Cambodia for a massive tourist resort on an out-of-the way island don‘t add up and may serve a different goal. -
5 Dec 2019
What I said then, what I think now: The Khmer Rouge Tribunal
Progress has been lamentably slow, but a decade on, benefits can be seen in Cambodians learning this terrible history. -
26 Nov 2019
Cambodia: Playing the long game against Hun Sen
European Union pressure is working, and revoking trade preferences might allow Cambodians to escape dynastic rule. -
5 Nov 2019
Photo essay: Phnom Penh and China-backed building boom
Towering over low shops and French colonial–era townhouses grows a new city in tribute to the politics of the present. -
24 Sep 2019
Micro-loans raise major questions in Cambodia
Studies show microfinance increasingly harming those it claims to help, while defenders cry “fake news”. -
5 Jul 2019
Cambodia: the regime’s base survival instinct on display
A decision to reject a US offer to refurbish Ream Naval Base might hint at China’s influence but also domestic concerns. -
24 May 2019
Cambodia: weak words on strongman rule
<p>Why bother to send a UN special rapporteur to the country if the democratic backsliding is all but ignored?</p> -
14 May 2019
Hun Sen’s natural bilateral “bestie”
Cambodia’s tilt to China is abundantly clear after a slew of new deals and rumours of a potential Chinese military base. -
26 Mar 2019
Taking transitional justice to Cambodia’s youth
Decades after Khmer Rouge, reparations could not be afforded to its victims. So justice is looking at Cambodia’s youth. -
8 Jan 2019
The rude health of Cambodia’s Hun Sen
Speculation about succession by Hun Sen’s eldest son is an interesting talking point – that could go on a while yet. -
29 Nov 2018
International justice: tackling impunity in Asia
Trials in Cambodia, while fraught, may help deliver accountability for crimes against humanity across the region. -
20 Nov 2018
Cambodia’s genocide verdict: better late than never
The Khmer Rouge trials reinforce the criminality of the Pol Pot regime but the glacial pace leaves much to be desired -
3 Oct 2018
Hun Sen at the UN: a strategic appearance
Cambodia’s took to the world stage in New York, with comments to dismiss critics and target an audience at home. -
7 Sep 2018
The James Ricketson trial
Watching court proceedings of a case marred by irregularities that in a country other than Cambodia might be thrown out. -
26 Jul 2018
Cambodia’s election: where the numbers lie
Strings of numbers that appear in social media comments are portentous in Cambodia’s stifled political climate. -
19 Jul 2018
What has gone wrong in Cambodia?
In 1993 the international community allowed Hun Sen to remain the dominant political force, as he still is today. -
13 Jul 2018
Why Japan is supporting Cambodia’s election
Despite Western concern the ballot will be neither free or fair, Tokyo is seeking to counter China’s influence. -
11 Jul 2018
Cambodia: dispelling the Malaysia illusion
No stunning surprises will be allowed in Hun Sen’s drive to remain as prime minister. -
2 Jul 2018
Hun Sen and his personality cult
The menace behind the man within the title “Princely Exalted Supreme Great Commander of Gloriously Victorious Troops”. -
8 Jun 2018
Cambodia: the unfree press
Censorship has decimated a once vibrant media landscape, and the restrictions are growing. -
28 May 2018
Cambodia: to vote or not to vote?
The Cambodian people are being asked to boycott the election. To do so would be a mistake. -
11 May 2018
Courageous voice for truth silenced in Cambodia
The demise of The Phnom Penh Post sees the end of a premier journal of record. -
8 May 2018
Mourning Cambodia’s press freedom
<p>The media crackdown continues with the sacking of the country’s last independent newspaper editor.</p> -
1 Feb 2018
The awkward case of the Australian “spy” in Phnom Penh
Espionage charges against Australian film-maker James Ricketson have put a spotlight on Canberra’s delicate ties with Cambodia. -
19 Jan 2018
Despite the controversy, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal is a success
There are many yardsticks beyond counting convictions for judging the achievements of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. -
11 Dec 2017
Australia wants to reform Hun Sen – ‘It’s not going to work,’ says opposition leader
'Australia has been trying to reform those institutions, reform Hun Sen. It’s not going to work.' -
1 Dec 2017
Donor scramble as Cambodia hits undo on democracy
The time may be ripe for punitive actions to call Hun Sen’s bluff. -
28 Sep 2017
‘First They Killed My Father’: A beautiful film that could help Hun Sen
The release of 'First they Killed my Father' is well timed to advance fears of a return of the past. -
6 Sep 2017
Quick comment: Milton Osborne on Cambodia’s crackdown
Aaron Connelly speaks with Milton Osborne, one of the world's leading historians of Cambodian politics, about recent developments in the country. -
5 Sep 2017
Cambodia’s dying democracy
If the West allows Cambodia's democracy to fall without a whimper, the contagion of despotism will be hard to contain in Southeast Asia. -
28 Aug 2017
Hun Sen prepares for next year’s national elections
Hun Sen is preparing for next year’s elections, which means that he's determined to undermine, denigrate, and punish all those he sees as political enemies. -
1 Jun 2017
A dam at Sambor: Another Mekong domino teeters
Four inhabited islands would have be submerged were the dam to go ahead, displacing 19,000 people. -
12 Apr 2017
Electioneering in Cambodia: War debt and China’s favour
Tough talk with the US on war debt and the budding new relationship with China are indicative of an unpopular leader steeling for elections.