Southeast Asia

How ASEAN Lost its Way

ASEAN was founded to promote peace between the nations of Southeast Asia. Incapable of moving with the times, what is the point of it?

On the Spot: Peter Carey

What historical topic have I changed my mind on? Colonialism. I now know that it had no redeeming features.

Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore Story

One man more than any other is associated with Singapore’s remarkable success. On his centenary: who was Lee Kuan Yew and how did he do it?

The Life Aquatic

Hong Kong in the 1950s had a nomadic floating population that needed to be counted in the census – but how?

Return of the Marcos

A history of the Philippines’ 7,000 islands from the pre-colonial era to the present day.

All Too Graphic

Leaked photographs of colonial atrocities during the Malayan ‘Emergency’ shocked postwar Britain.

A History of China’s Claim to Taiwan

Mao Zedong once said that Taiwan should be independent, but the Chinese Communist Party has since changed its mind on the ‘renegade province’. How Chinese is Taiwan?