Ear to Asia
Temporada 2024
por Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne
As East Asian countries like Japan, China and South Korea experience rapid population ageing due to declining fertility rates and increasing life expectancy, the demographic shift in the land of the living is having a parallel impact on what happens after life. Deathcare -- which encompasses post-death services, products, policy, and governance -- is changing too. Rapid urbanisation has disrupted long-observed burial practices and post-death rituals, while smaller family sizes and a jump in one-person households has put pressure on age-old East Asian traditions that centre the handling or the honouring of the dead in the family home. And just as new business models and services are emerging to meet the living needs of greying populations in East Asia, deathcare too has had to innovate, with new technologies and digital solutions aimed at both disposal and memorialisation of the dead. Anthropologists Dr Hannah Gould from the University of Melbourne and Professor Andrew Kipnis from The Chinese University of Hong Kong join Ear to Asia host Sami Shah to explain how demography in the region is reshaping deathcare. An Asia Institute podcast. Produced and edited by profactual.com. Music by audionautix.com.
The rivers of the Eastern Tibetan Plateau, a lifeline for hundreds of millions of people across Asia, are a hotbed of geopolitical tension. A history of colonialism, border disputes, and competing interests has made present-day transboundary governance exceptionally challenging, as national governments, non-state actors, international organisations, and local communities vie for influence. Heated negotiations over managing the rivers, including plans for dams and other water infrastructure, impact riparian populations, agriculture and the environment downstream. So how to make sense of the tapestry of interests to be found along rivers such as the Mekong or the Brahmaputra? How do less powerful states negotiate with more powerful ones upstream? And what strategies can policymakers and other stakeholders adopt to promote equitable and sustainable water governance in the face of climate change? Dr Ruth Gamble from La Trobe University and Zali Fung from the University of Melbourne join presenter Sami Shah to examine the complex geopolitics surrounding rivers of our planet’s third pole. An Asia Institute podcast. Produced and edited by profactual.com. Music by audionautix.com.
More than a quarter century since landmark democratic reforms, Indonesia's labor movement remains surprisingly subdued. Workers continue to face low wages, poor working conditions, and laws that put employers first, as efforts to organize labor remain encumbered by a mix of nationalist and religious rhetoric, government policy, and the rise of the gig economy. So what will it take to significantly improve workers' ability to organize and fight for their rights? And what are their chances of a better deal under the leadership of the incoming president, Prabowo Subianto? Professor Vedi Hadiz, Director of Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne, joins presenter Sami Shah to examine the state of Indonesia's labor movement. An Asia Institute podcast. Produced and edited by profactual.com. Music by audionautix.com.
South Korea has a reputation for very long work hours. Despite laws limiting the working week to 40 hours, overtime is rampant, fueled by a culture of "more is better." This relentless pace has resulted in overwork-related deaths and has played a part in South Korea having the world's lowest fertility rate. At the same time, the tradition of lifetime employment is fading, exacerbating job insecurity for many. So how did a work culture that puts such pressure on workers come to be? How can South Koreans find a way to a healthier work-life balance? And what needs to change in order to foster family growth while maintaining the nation's high standard of living? Human resource management researchers Assoc. Prof. Daejeong Choi from the University of Melbourne and Assoc. Prof. Sunghoon Kim of the University of Sydney Business School examine the complex dynamics underlying South Korea's work-life imbalance with presenter Sami Shah. An Asia Institute podcast. Produced and edited by profactual.com. Music by audionautix.com.
While Narendra Modi was able to secure a historic third term as India's Prime Minister in recent elections, he no longer enjoys presiding over an outright parliamentary majority by his party, the BJP. Instead, Modi is now forced to rely on alliance partners, who will likely bristle at his autocratic leadership style and his party's Hindu-nationalist agenda. Yet, Modi will have to find a way to address India's serious policy challenges, which include persistent inflation, the need to find tens of millions of jobs for young Indians, continued marginalisation of ethnic and religious minorities, and an escalating climate crisis that's resulted in 50-degree temperatures in Delhi and a looming water supply issue of existential proportions. So how will Modi's brand of politics measure up to the needs of policy this time around? Dr. Pradeep Taneja from the University of Melbourne's School of Social and Political Sciences joins host Sami Shah to explore what Modi's third term could mean for India. An Asia Institute podcast. Produced and edited by profactual.com. Music by audionautix.com.
With escalating military conflict between Myanmar's ruling junta and various ethnic armed organisations (or EAOs) in recent months, China is pursuing a delicate balancing act along their shared 2200 km border, juggling its economic interests, security concerns, and regional reputation. While Beijing has traditionally supported the junta, recent events have signalled the limits of such backing as the regime appears to weaken. In Northern Shan State, a region with a rich tapestry of ethnic groups and militias – many at odds with the central government – China has attempted to position itself as a mediator, convening peace talks and exerting pressure on various factions. Meanwhile, reverberations of the unrest have been felt across the border in China's Yunnan Province, impacting trade, border security, and prompting calls for a potential Chinese security presence in Myanmar. So what’s really at stake for China as events in Myanmar become increasingly uncertain? How much do Beijing’s aspirations in the region rely on continued support for the ruling junta? And what constructive role, if any, could Beijing play in a more peaceful future for Myanmar? Jason Tower, Myanmar country director for the United States Institute of Peace, and Dr Pascal Abb, China foreign policy analyst at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, examine the intersection of Myanmar's fate and China's interests with Ear to Asia host Sami Shah. An Asia Institute podcast. Produced and edited by profactual.com. Music by audionautix.com. Further reading Transnational Crime in Southeast Asia: A Growing Threat to Global Peace and Security https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/05/transnational-crime-southeast-asia-growing-threat-global-peace-and-security Road to Peace or Bone of Contention?: The Impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on Conflict States https://www.prif.org/en/publications/publication-search/publication/road-to-peace-or-bone-of-contention Do regime differences shape developmental engagement? How China and Japan compete in post-coup Myanmar https://blog.prif.org/2023/12/20/do-regime-differences-shape-developmental-engagement-how-china-and-japan-compete-in-post-coup-myanmar/ Myanmar’s Collapsing Military Creates a Crisis on China’s Border https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/04/myanmars-collapsing-military-creates-crisis-chinas-border
Undersea cables underpin global communication and the digital economy, with between 95-99% of data for international banking, e-commerce, video calls, and intelligence sharing travelling via these largely hidden transoceanic routes. However, this critical multi-billion-dollar infrastructure faces increasing risks from shipping accidents, natural disasters, geopolitical tensions, and sabotage threats. Meanwhile, in the Indo-Pacific region US-China tech competition is leading to a fragmented cable network with contrasting standards and governance models. Great power competition is forcing Southeast Asian nations into making political choices over what should be engineering decisions. So how are nations navigating this difficult balancing act and what role should regional frameworks play? And with digital data flows rising sharply, what steps are needed to enhance the resilience and protection of undersea cables? Maritime security researchers Elina Noor from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Cynthia Mehboob from the Australian National University take a deep dive into the world of these ocean-spanning data conduits. With host Sami Shah. An Asia Institute podcast. Produced and edited by profactual.com. Music by audionautix.com.
Almost four decades since Vietnam abandoned Marxist central planning in favour of market socialism, Vietnam is now well integrated in the global supply chain and is an important manufacturing hub for labour-intensive industries like textiles, electronics, and even automobiles. The economic expansion -- powered by foreign investment and exports -- has reshaped Vietnam's labour market, creating higher-skilled jobs but also challenges like wage stagnation and worker abuse. For all the fanfare over investment dollars from the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Intel -- as well as a host of Chinese companies -- there are signs that the welfare of workers, both in terms of pay and working conditions, is far from a top priority. Meanwhile, restrictive policies around unionisation and dissent have served to hamper labour advocacy. So how to make sense of an uneven labour landscape overseen by a Communist party with long ties to workers? What can be done to ensure Vietnam’s workers truly benefit from the country’s hard-won place in the global value chain? And what can policymakers, businesses and civil society actors do better to protect the very people who underpin Vietnam’s economic future? Vietnam labour experts Prof Angie Tran from Cal State Monterey Bay and Dr Tu Nguyen from Asia Institute examine the often fraught labour relations in Vietnam with host Sami Shah. An Asia Institute podcast. Produced and edited by profactual.com. Music by audionautix.com. Further Reading Prof Angie Tran Ethnic Descent and Empowerment: Economic Migration Between Vietnam and Malaysia https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p085277 Dr Tu Nguyen Law and Precarity Legal Consciousness and Daily Survival in Vietnam https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/law-and-precarity/CDA947232EBCB9E5392F6674095F8E1B
For the nearly eight decades since its founding, Pakistan has struggled to find a balance between civilian democratic governance and the power wielded by its armed forces. The military has directly ruled the country for almost half of its existence through coups d’etat and martial law. Even during periods of civilian rule, its influence has loomed large, often described as a "state within a state." The result has been a democracy where no prime minister has ever completed a five-year term. So what were the historical circumstances and power dynamics that elevated the military to such a dominant position? And does such an imbalance between civilian institutions and the military mean for Pakistan's democratic development and ability to create and enforce effective public policy today? Seasoned Pakistan watchers Dr Ayesha Jehangir from University Technology Sydney and Mosharraf Zaidi from Tabadlab, an Islamabad-based think tank, join presenter Sami Shah to examine Pakistan military's outsized presence in the political life of the South Asian nation. An Asia Institute podcast. Produced and edited by profactual.com. Music by audionautix.com.
For decades, Iran has skillfully employed a network of proxy militant groups across the broader Middle East to project power and advance its interests, while maintaining an impression of plausible deniability on the global stage. At its core lies a "forward defence" strategy: pushing away or pre-empting threats from Iranian soil. Yet while this approach prioritises security, it also carries risks. As conflict in the region has intensified in recent months with the Israel-Gaza war, we ask how much control Iran truly enjoys over these forces. How sustainable is outsourcing warfare via proxies? And what are the risks for Teheran of miscalculation, sparking a wider conflagration? Ear to Asia host Sami Shah is joined by Prof Shahram Akbarzadeh, Research Professor of Middle East & Central Asian Politics at Deakin University, and author of the 2023 book “Middle East Politics and International Relations: Crisis Zone” from Routledge. And also by international relations expert Dr Andrew Thomas, also from Deakin University. Andrew’s new book which relates to our topic is entitled “Iran and the West: A Non-Western Approach to Foreign Policy”, published by Routledge. An Asia Institute podcast. Produced and edited by profactual.com. Music by audionautix.com.