authoritarian leadership
Sheikh Hasina's Death Sentence: Bangladesh Repeats Its Political Trauma of 1975
Nov 18, 2025 05:30 pm CST
Bangladesh's former president Sheikh Hasina faces a death sentence in absentia, mirroring her father's fate in 1975. This verdict highlights South Asia's cyclical political tragedies where leaders transform from saviors to tyrants. Her exile in India further complicates regional relations as Bangladesh struggles with unresolved historical tensions between secularism, religious nationalism, and the unfulfilled promises of liberation.
The Dangerous Revival: How Southeast Asia Is Rehabilitating Its Authoritarian Past
Nov 18, 2025 12:55 am CST
Indonesia's recent elevation of former dictator Suharto to national hero status exemplifies a troubling trend across Southeast Asia where authoritarian figures are being rehabilitated through historical revisionism. This phenomenon, fueled by generational amnesia and selective memory, threatens democratic institutions as younger citizens unfamiliar with dictatorial oppression become vulnerable to authoritarian nostalgia. Similar patterns in the Philippines, Thailand, and Cambodia demonstrate how perceived stability under strongmen creates dangerous opportunities for democratic backsliding across the region.