Asia

Within Taliban governance, the absence of a constitution or legal structure leaves Emir's decrees as the principal guiding force. However, these decrees often linger in the realm of aspiration, lacking the concrete mechanisms necessary for effective implementation. This policy brief looks at Taliban governance and the challenges posed by the reliance on moral guidance in navigating administrative and policy realms.

In 2023, tensions peaked between Afghanistan and Pakistan over the expulsion of Afghan nationals. Forced returns led to an influx of families crossing borders, straining resources. This brief examines the institutional response, challenges, and recommendations for international support.

To successfully achieve a peaking and rapid decline in emissions, China will need increased efforts on energy efficiency, a successful transformation of the economic growth model, or even higher investments into clean energy.

This policy paper investigates the trend towards authoritarian elections in mainland Southeast Asia – in Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar – with a focus on the right to political participation.

Activists and amateur women filmmakers have played a pivotal role in capturing the realities of life under the Taliban rule. They have utilised social media platforms such as YouTube and Twitter to obtain an unfiltered perspective of Afghanistan. This E-Paper explores the insights that can be gained from these films in our efforts to understand the current crisis that women in Afghanistan face.

Seventeen months after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on 15 August 2021, little has been done to address local level grievances and disputes that have fuelled decades of conflict. This report, based on field research conducted from October 2021 to March 2022 in Helmand province, strongly argues that these grievances risk erupting into renewed violence and further destabilising the country.

In this groundbreaking report tracking China’s climate transition, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) assessed China’s progress in curbing emissions against 19 different benchmarks and carried out a survey of 26 Chinese energy sector analysts and experts.

The study by Asia expert Dieter Reinhardt shows why the construction of this coal-fired power plant is an exemplary anachronism: it prevents the expansion of renewable energies, which is necessary because of climate change and for which Bangladesh has the potential; and it weakens coastal protection, which should have priority in view of rising sea levels.

The 10th issue of Perspectives Asia takes a look at how the pandemic is reshaping state/society relationships in different Asian countries; it also shares down-to-earth Covid-19 experiences from different regions and cultures, on issues as diverse as trust in government institutions, the situation of migrant workers, and gender relationships.