Views from Down Underer

Ep. 88: Canadian PM Carney's 2026 World Economic Forum speech

Canadian PM Mark Carney delivered a hard hitting speech declaring the 'rules-based international order' as ruptured and calling for middle powers of the world to unite.  While many observers and non-western states have known (and complained) for a long time, this the first time that a Western leader finally yelled out: "The emperor has no clothes."

Ep.87: Thailand and Cambodia border conflict (again), Thai calls for new general election

Thai-Cambodia border conflict flares again months after a peace accord signed in the presence of US President Trump.  In the midst of this conflict, Thai PM dissolves parliament and calls for new general election.

Ep. 86: China-Japan spat, NZ MPs sent warning letter by PRC envoy, MAGA's MTG resigning from US Congress

Tensions brewing between China and Japan due to PRC's response to Japanese PM's comments about 'survival-threatening situation' pertaining to conflict in the Taiwan Strait.  What's happening here? Over-reaction? Playing to domestic constituencies? Nationalism at play? Chinese envoy to NZ wrote a warning letter to NZ MPs that attended Taiwan's national day reception in Wellington.  Wolf-warrior at play again? Principal-agent issues?  Misunderstanding of how Westminster system works?  Fallout of the US government shutdown and Epstein files is the resignation announcement of big MAGA supporter Marjorie Taylor-Greene.

Ep. 85: Learning a foreign language: opening minds, appreciating cultures, building self-confidence, creating opportunities

We share our experience of learning foreign languages and the importance of learning a different language.  One of our students currently studying Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan shares her experience learning the language and living in Taipei.  

Ep. 84: ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur and APEC meeting in Seoul

ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur saw the formal admission of Timor Leste as the newest ASEAN member, the transfer of chair-ship to the Philippines and US President Trump attended the summit.  Seoul hosted the APEC meeting but the Trump-XI meeting stole the show as the leaders of the two largest economies met face to face.

Ep. 83: Trading democracy off for desirable outcomes?

We discuss a forthcoming research article to be published at the Comparative Political Studies by Jonathan Chu and colleagues on whether people are willing to trade-off democracy for desirable outcomes.  The paper using experiments show that while free and fair elections are a desired, people in the six countries they studied (including US, Japan, Italy) are willing to trade it off to avoid living in dangerous societies.
Readings: Jonathan A. Chu, Scott Williamson, Eddy S.F. Yeung (forthcoming). "Are People Willing to to Trade Away Democracy for Desirable Outcomes? Experimental Evidence from Six Countries." Comparative Political Studies

Ep 82: Australia-PNG security pact and Australia-Vanuatu security and development pact

Recent news about Australia's pacts with Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu has highlighted the important of geopolitical competition in the South Pacific.  However, despite the announcement of these pacts, they were not officially signed in time from the Pacific Island Forum.  What are these pacts? Are there outstanding issues that preventing the pacts from being signed?  We are joined by Henrietta McNeill-Stowers, Michael Kabuni, and Anna Naupa of the Australian National University to discuss these news.

Ep.81: Russian drones over Poland, Hyundai plant raided by immigration agents

Poland invoked NATO article 4 due to Russian drones violating Polish airspace.  Immigration agents in the US raided a South Korean EV plant in the state of Georgia and deported over 300 South Korean workers.  

Ep. 80: Impressions from the conference we hosted, US rebranding Pentagon to Department of War

We hosted a conference on "Asia-Pacific states: navigating and managing global disorder" a week ago.  We share insights we learned from the conference.  US Trump administration is planning to rebrand Pentagon to Department of War.  The cost of this renaming alone can be in billions of dollars.  

Ep. 79: Putin-Trump Alaska summit and Chinese ship collision in the South China Sea

What happened or not in the Alaska summit between Trump and Putin?  Two Chinese ships collided while doing a pincer move chasing a Philippine coast guard vessel.  Will there be escalation in the future?