commentary

Explaining the ‘Asian Miracle’

Richard Falk - 2020-03-20 - Original post - Cached copy

[Prefatory Note: The posted essay is a modified version of an interpretative review of an outstanding book that initially appeared in Challenge, an online publication, a few weeks ago. A timely aspect of Nayyar’s book is the emphasis he places on the importance of effective state/society relations in explaining the remarkable growth experience of Asia. Such an insight seems relevant to the degree to which various governments are effectively managing responses to the challenge of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Cruelty or Humanity?

Richard Falk - 2020-03-12 - Original post - Cached copy

[Prefatory Note: Posted below is my foreword to Stuart Rees’ exceedingly important study of the role of cruelty to in politics, a mystifying dimension of human experience, which is illuminated by integrating the insights and reflections of poets with the narration of political poliices. This fusion gives this book a quality of originality as well of practical relevance.]
 
 

Weaponizing Lawfare in The Philippines

Richard Falk - 2020-02-22 - Original post - Cached copy

[Prefatory Note: The following text is the transcript of my presentation by video transmission to a Forum held in Manila on February 21, 2020 in support of Senator Leila De Lima who has been detained in prison for many months on spurious charges of drug trafficking. Such a case is an example of ‘weaponizing law’ (regressive lawfare) to carry out the anti-democratic policies of a fairly elected autocrat, which in the case of Rodrigo Duterte, despite leaving by now a long trail of blood-stained abuse, retains an approval rating of more than 80%.

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