Former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo developed a coherent and comprehensive strategic vision. It not only precipitated Japan’s emergence as a primary player in the Indo-Pacific but also the strategic choices of other regional states, including the United States, Australia, and India. 

The Micronesian states' decision to withdraw from the Pacific Islands Forum has fractured the esteemed organisation in a deep and potentially disruptive way for Pacific regionalism. The question of where we go from here remains unanswered.

Over the past decades, there has been copious negative publicity surrounding the position of women in Islam. This condemnation often forgets how, theologically, Islam grants women more rights than any other world religion, including Judaism and Christianity.

Thailand is not undergoing a resurgence of hyper-royalism. Rather, the new Thai King is repositioning the Thai monarchy as simultaneously a constitutional monarch and a direct political player, which could have dire consequences for all future Thai governments.

Tropical Cyclone Seroja hit Timor-Leste, resulting in significant loss of life and displacement. The full fallout will depend not only on the natural disaster itself but how it interacts with the worsening COVID-19 pandemic and emerging political tensions in Dili.

Raúl Castro resigned as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba. This changing of the guard is provoking local and global reflection on his performance and how it has positioned Cuba for the future.

Biden’s first 100 days as President saw a noticeable change regarding foreign policy to that of Trump. A renewed commitment to the Indo-Pacific, the US aims to enhance cooperation with allies to respond to growing challenges in the region.

The government of Yemen started to administer the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The vaccination campaign has become the latest source of dispute in a country that has been at war since 2014.

Samoa has elected its first woman prime minister. Now an ongoing constitutional crisis, ironically centred around competing interpretations of Samoa’s parliamentary gender quota provisions, is preventing her from taking power.

India and Nepal’s enduring border disputes have repeatedly provoked nationalist movements and protests in Nepal and alienated Nepal from India. Resolving the disputes through cooperative rather than coercive measures will be critical for India’s ambition to become a “responsible” rising power.