Asian Politics & Policy最新文献

{"title":"The Anti-Fraud Lever: China's Strategic Use of the Scam Crackdown to Invigorate the LMLECC Process Against Thailand's Reluctance","authors":"Watunyu Jaiborisudhi,&nbsp;Poowin Bunyavejchewin,&nbsp;Kridsana Chotisut","doi":"10.1111/aspp.70064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.70064","url":null,"abstract":"<p>China launched an unprecedented crackdown on Myanmar-based, transnational, Chinese-led criminal syndicates—particularly telecommunications and Internet fraud rings targeting Chinese nationals. This action was prompted by a public outcry over human trafficking and the increasing number of victims of fraud in China. The Chinese campaign comprised several actions, including organizing joint operations, such as Operation SEAGULL under the Chinese-led Lancang–Mekong Integrated Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation Center (LMLECC), and authorizing high-profile extraterritorial activities—most notably Liu Zhongyi's conspicuous actions on Thai soil. Although China's assertive measures have been successful in dismantling major fraud operation centers, its near-unilateral actions and circumvention of traditional diplomatic norms and protocols have negatively affected Sino–Thai relations, raising concerns regarding sovereignty and the expanding reach of LMLECC cooperation. In this context, the disruption of Chinese-led criminal syndicates likely served as a pretext for China to advance its political and security influence in the Mekong region.</p>","PeriodicalId":44747,"journal":{"name":"Asian Politics & Policy","volume":"18 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146193524","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Media Coverage of Climate Change in Southeast Asia's Largest Muslim-Majority Country","authors":"Munadhil Abdul Muqisth,&nbsp;Rani Sabtelasari,&nbsp;Ismail Sualman,&nbsp;Rizky Ridho Pratomo","doi":"10.1111/aspp.70067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.70067","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44747,"journal":{"name":"Asian Politics & Policy","volume":"18 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146196954","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Role of Technology Standards in Strategic Hedging","authors":"Darren J. Lim,&nbsp;Anthea Roberts","doi":"10.1111/aspp.70065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.70065","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article argues that technology standards provide Southeast Asian states with a distinct mechanism for hedging amid intensifying US–China technological rivalry. Traditional hedging strategies emphasizing economic engagement without political alignment are increasingly constrained by the weaponization of technological interdependence, politicizing previously neutral technology decisions. We develop a framework showing how active participation in global standards-setting offers strategic ambiguity and preserves autonomy, identifying four standards-based mechanisms. Descriptive analysis—including Singapore's leadership in AI governance, Malaysia's diversified digital investment policies, and Vietnam's procurement strategies—highlights how these mechanisms help maintain technological neutrality, reduce vendor lock-in, and protect sovereignty. Theoretically, we advance the hedging literature by showing how economic policies increasingly risk confounding hedging strategies, but that standards embody a logic mitigating these risks. Empirically, we provide evidence of engagement with standards in practice, illustrating how standards can enable smaller states to manage geopolitical pressures while maximizing economic and strategic flexibility.</p>","PeriodicalId":44747,"journal":{"name":"Asian Politics & Policy","volume":"18 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aspp.70065","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146193490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Living in the Trust Nexus: Investigating the Interplay of News and Government Trust on Individuals' Subjective Well-Being in Singapore","authors":"Zhang Hao Goh,&nbsp;Edmund W. J. Lee","doi":"10.1111/aspp.70066","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.70066","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Citizens' trust in the news and the government can affect the success of governments' strategic intervention in the news media to advance their positions. To sustain healthy trust levels in both sources, it is important to ensure that they can enhance their subjective well-being. Through a survey, this study puts forth a trust-nexus framework examining how the interplay of government and media trust impacts well-being in a liberal-authoritarian media system. The marginal effects of news trust on audiences' emotional and social well-being are greater at high levels of government trust than at low levels. This interaction effect impacting psychological well-being is more pronounced when there is high than low social media news consumption. The study interprets, via a critical media sociology perspective, how the building of the different dimensions of news audiences' subjective well-being via news trust can be conditioned by government trust and social media news consumption.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":44747,"journal":{"name":"Asian Politics & Policy","volume":"18 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146176306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rules, Power, and Interests: Superpowers and a Turbulent World Order","authors":"Aries A. Arugay","doi":"10.1111/aspp.70063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.70063","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by United States forces marks a watershed moment in the further erosion of rules based international order (RBIO) revealing once more the propensity of great powers to instrumentalize international law and human rights for strategic ends. For Asia, this episode is not a remote Western Hemisphere anomaly but a cautionary signal that the guardrails once thought to constrain great power behavior are increasingly contingent, contested, and conditional.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I touched on the RBIO's increasing fragility and weakness last year (Arugay &lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;). To the shock of many, 2026 started with this Venezuelan operation while even leaders like Putin were on holiday. The Venezuela operation illustrates the enduring logic of superpower exceptionalism, in which great powers claim latitude to reinterpret or suspend norms that otherwise bind the rest of the international system. Legal analyses overwhelmingly view the forcible seizure of a sitting head of state, on the territory of another sovereign without its consent or UN authorization, as a prima facie breach of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and the customary rule of non‑intervention.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;US officials have framed the action as a law‑enforcement–driven “extraction” grounded in criminal indictments and the illegitimacy of Maduro's regime, blurring the line between domestic jurisdiction and the Charter's strict regulation of the use of force. This move resembles earlier efforts to justify targeted killings or transborder operations as sui generis responses to “rogue” actors, thereby chipping away at the collective security framework that formally vests coercive authority in the UN Security Council.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The narrative surrounding Maduro's capture also reveals how human rights and democracy promotion can be mobilized as selective tools rather than consistent principles. Washington has long criticized Caracas for authoritarianism, corruption, and egregious human rights abuses, yet the means chosen to address these violations involve conduct that prominent jurists argue undermines due process guarantees, non‑refoulement protections, and the prohibition against arbitrary detention when viewed through an international human rights lens. Elsewhere in the world, particularly in Southeast Asia, widespread human rights violations have not resulted in military intervention like in Myanmar (Barber and Teitt &lt;span&gt;2021&lt;/span&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Such selective universalism is familiar to observers in Asia who have seen rights‑based rhetoric invoked to justify certain interventions while comparable abuses by allies or strategic partners elicit muted responses. The Maduro precedent thus feeds broader perceptions, particularly in the Global South, that the liberal order's normative vocabulary is hierarchically applied, with great powers positioning themselves simultaneously as norm entrepreneurs, enforcers, and—increasingly—exceptions to the rules.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This signalling reverber","PeriodicalId":44747,"journal":{"name":"Asian Politics & Policy","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aspp.70063","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146136800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beyond Numbers: Substantive Representation and the Limits of Gender Quotas in Japanese Politics","authors":"Dawood Rosemary Soliman","doi":"10.1111/aspp.70061","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.70061","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This paper critically examines the persistent under-representation of women in Japanese politics. I argue that raising the number of women in legislatures through descriptive representation solely does not ensure substantive gains for gender equality. Through conducting semi-structured interviews with eight female politicians representing municipal wards in Tokyo, this study sheds light on the recruitment strategies of political parties towards women and how it contributes in reinforcing existing gender stereotypes and limiting the effectiveness of female legislators. Situating the discussion within theories of critical mass and critical actors, the study demonstrates that structural barriers such as male-dominated political culture and electoral systems remain entrenched. By examining the status quo of women in politics and their marginalization in the electoral system, the study prescribes recruiting women based on their potential, qualifications and their willingness to act as active gender agents creating “feminist parliamentarians” instead of passive female tokens who are unable to speak about women's interests. By focusing on the substantive actions and motivations of female legislators, rather than their mere presence, this article argues for more meaningful and sustainable pathways towards gender equity in Japanese governance.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":44747,"journal":{"name":"Asian Politics & Policy","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146136568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Normative Convergence and Practical Divergence in Democracy Promotion: Japan's and South Korea's Responses to Autocratization in Myanmar","authors":"Hyo-sook Kim,&nbsp;David M. Potter","doi":"10.1111/aspp.70055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.70055","url":null,"abstract":"<p>本研究考察了日本和韩国在2021年缅甸军事政变后的应对措施。为此, 本研究借鉴规范理论, 并提出了一种民主推广类型学, 该类型学考虑了外部民主推广者与伙伴国之间的互动程度:控制、附加条件、劝说和援助。案例研究表明, 日本和韩国主要采用劝说和援助手段应对缅甸军事政变, 而西方民主推广者则采取了更具强制性的措施, 例如经济制裁和政治附加条件。也就是说, 尽管民主推广者都认同民主推广的规范, 但其具体实施方式却因推广者而异。此外, 本研究还指出, 在缅甸案例中, 民主推广实践的分歧有可能相互补充, 从而提高该国民主保护的可能性。</p>","PeriodicalId":44747,"journal":{"name":"Asian Politics & Policy","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146136624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Naval Diplomacy and Strategic Signaling in a Multiplex Rules-Based Order: Australia, Japan, and India's Engagements With the Philippines","authors":"Joshua Bernard B. Espeña","doi":"10.1111/aspp.70056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.70056","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Why do states conduct naval diplomacy? While existing literature highlights its diplomatic utility, it often drowns in tautology. To escape the pit, the article asks: why do states conduct naval diplomacy in the 21st-century Indo-Pacific? It argues that naval diplomacy is a signaling act to communicate contributive status in a multiplex maritime order. Using Liberal Realism and Smart Power logic, the article compares Australia, Japan, and India's engagements with the Philippines. It finds that naval diplomacy signals legitimacy and adaptation—not just diplomatic functions. Order Contributors (Australia, Japan, and India) shape the rules-based order on their terms, while Order Stakeholders (Philippines) assert agency to sustain regional public goods. The article challenges binaries like the China–United States Thucydides Trap that beset the Indo-Pacific and reframes the strategic logic of contemporary naval diplomacy.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":44747,"journal":{"name":"Asian Politics & Policy","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146136625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unpacking Environmental Assessment Reports: Power, Discourse, and Policy Implications in North Kendeng Mountain, Indonesia","authors":"Abdul Kodir","doi":"10.1111/aspp.70060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.70060","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This article examines the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), EIA Addendum, and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) used to evaluate the Watuputih Groundwater Basin in the designated karst area of North Kendeng Mountain, planned for cement mining. Using discourse analysis of systematic language and text, it compares the narratives and framings within these documents. The analysis reveals a complex relationship between dominant and alternative discourses. The dominant policy discourse, reflected in the EIA and its addendum, is shaped by powerful actors such as cement companies and the Central Java provincial government, who explicitly prioritize economic development. In contrast, the alternative discourse, represented in the SEA, promotes a more sustainable approach to governing the karst landscape. This contrast highlights competing environmental governance paradigms and the political role of environmental assessments. Ultimately, the study shows how key actors influence public perception and policy direction through competing knowledge claims embedded in environmental assessment frameworks.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":44747,"journal":{"name":"Asian Politics & Policy","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146140124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Risk of Compressed Modernity, By \u0000 Kyung-Sup Chang, Cambridge/New Jersey: Polity Books, 2025. $69.95. ISBN: 978-1-5095-6048-6.","authors":"Matthew Manuelito S. Miranda","doi":"10.1111/aspp.70062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.70062","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44747,"journal":{"name":"Asian Politics & Policy","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146058071","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}