The Philippines and Indonesia, two of Southeast Asia's largest archipelagic nations, often appear in separate narratives—one shaped by a Spanish–American legacy, the other by Dutch colonial rule. Yet a closer look reveals striking convergences that span their colonial foundations, struggles for independence, religious makeup, foreign influences, authoritarian legacies, environmental challenges, and patterns of corruption.
Colonial Foundations and the Fight for Liberation
To understand (…)

Kharkiv-based historian Vadym Ilyin offers a left-wing critique of Ukraine's official “decolonisation” policy. He argues that far from being genuinely anti-colonial, the policy conflates fundamentally different historical periods without scholarly rigour, serves right-wing nationalist interests, and erases the memory of Ukrainians' contribution to defeating Nazism. Ilyin contends that “decolonisation” is procedurally undemocratic, driven by far-right activists in coordination with state (…)

Walden Bello writes: “A few months ago, I posted on Facebook a cri de cœur lamenting the demise of what I had called the Third Force to the corrupt Marcoses and the bloody Dutertes. Recently, someone forwarded a response to that post that was quite thoughtful and deserved a wider audience. There are some points I disagree with, but there are many more points I agree with, including the advocacy of a third force from below. Of course, no one likes being called a”false prophet,“but one just (…)