Democracy

From founding order to utopian drift: How America lost its centre

Tracing the US’s shift from its founding constitutional order to a period of ideological experimentation and internal fragmentation, Chinese commentator Jun Ma examines how competing visions of society have reshaped its political centre.

Jun Ma

25 May 2026

Can Trump survive a fourth political assassination attempt?

Reflecting on the assassination attempts against US President Trump, commentator Deng Yuwen argues that institutions once seen as sources of public confidence have weakened, while repeated gunfire in symbolic spaces of power shows external hatred increasingly penetrating the system’s boundaries. This is especially dangerous when the US president becomes a highly symbolic figure embodying political conflict.

Deng Yuwen

28 Apr 2026

How civilisational politics fuels today’s wars

Academic Ma Haiyun traces the history of civilisational conflict narratives in Western strategic thinking, built on Jewish intellectual foundations, long before the rise of Samuel P. Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Such approaches have had a profound effect on influencing the US’s behaviour in the Middle East and spillover effects in the region.

Ma Haiyun

22 Apr 2026

The tyranny of too much democracy: Confucius’s answer

Democracy today has lost some of its shine, with issues such as the rise of right-wing populist parties worrying some. But part of the problem lies in the conflation of two distinct ideas — liberalism and democracy. If the balance between liberalism and democracy needs to be restored, might a Confucian mixed regime be a possible alternative? Chinese academic Tongdong Bai contemplates the question.

Tongdong Bai

13 Apr 2026

Nepal’s new guard: How Gen Z fuelled a political sea change

In an unforeseen political upheaval for Nepal that saw the Rashtriya Swatantra Party win the largest political mandate in modern history, academic Rishi Gupta explores why Balen Shah and his party struck a chord across age groups, and how the new government plans to do a balancing act between India and China.

Rishi Gupta

02 Apr 2026

Taiwan in the shadow of a Trump-China deal

While Trump 2.0 has shown that the US may not sway towards Taiwan as readily as before, Trump’s actions in Venezuela and Iran may be good for Taiwan, by tempering China’s ambitions. Taiwanese academic Ho Ming-sho weights the pros and cons. 

Ho Ming-sho

31 Mar 2026

Will Trump become America’s Deng Xiaoping — or its Gorbachev?

Trump exposes America’s deep political and strategic dysfunction. His disruption could either spur institutional renewal and recalibration — like Deng Xiaoping — or deepen division and decay, like Gorbachev, observes academic Tan Kong Yam.

Tan Kong Yam

13 Feb 2026

[Big read] The world recarved under the Donroe Doctrine

US President Donald Trump’s revival of hemispheric dominance and the dramatic Venezuela intervention signal a rupture in global norms, as global powers weigh their next moves and NATO faces uncertainty. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Zhou Yifei reports.

Zhou Yifei

21 Jan 2026

How China outmanoeuvres the West in Myanmar

China is quietly reshaping Myanmar’s battlefield through economic pressure, while Western trade and sanctions backfire. Without a rethink, the West risks losing the country entirely. ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute visiting fellow Jared Bissinger analyses the future outlook.

Jared Bissinger

08 Dec 2025

[Big read] Myanmar’s election: Beijing plans, ASEAN stalls, youth pay the price

Myanmar holds elections while Beijing charts its long game and ASEAN stalls. On the ground, young people flee conscription and insecurity, bearing the human cost of political manoeuvring far beyond their control. Lianhe Zaobao journalists Tan Jet Min and Zhou Yifei speak to academics and ordinary Burmese to find out more.

Tan Jet Min, Zhou Yifei

01 Dec 2025

Why Japan and France are trapped in a dangerous leadership deadlock

Japan and France face political deadlock as divided parties and weak governments create a leadership void, threatening democracy and risking a rise in extremism amid global uncertainty. Commentator Chen Kuohsiang looks into the consequences.

Chen Kuohsiang

25 Sep 2025

Inside Xi Jinping’s push to reshape global governance

China’s recently unveiled Global Governance Initiative (GGI) differs from earlier calls to reform the global order in terms of the scope and drive for change. Beijing now seeks a leading role on the world stage either with the US playing a diminished role or without the US. But global reception to the GGI hinges on Beijing matching its words with action.

Lye Liang Fook

19 Sep 2025