Constraints on freedom of expression have expanded alongside dynamic economic growth in Laos over the past 12 months. Where will it lead?
Smallholder crop booms in mainland SEA
Destructive cycles of crop booms carve deep cracks in SEA societies, cultures and landscapes.
New Mandala’s most read in 2018
Revisit the 20 most popular articles published at New Mandala this year.
Lost in literature: the misuse of western sources and perspectives [Part III]
On the the misuse of western historical sources in the search for Suvarnabhumi.
Introducing ‘Rupture: nature–society transformation in mainland Southeast Asia’
Studying structural reconfigurations of nature and society in the Mekong region and beyond.
The Lao dam collapse: a tragedy long in the making
International donors need to own up to their own roles in the ongoing Lao hydropower tragedy.
Perspectives on the Past at New Mandala
Welcoming the University of Sydney's Southeast Asian history bloggers to New Mandala.
Introducing the Association for Mainland Southeast Asia Scholars (AMSEAS)
New association "seeks to foster and facilitate opportunities for the advancement of research and knowledge relevant to Mainland Southeast Asia."
Old dominance, new dominoes in Southeast Asia
Democracy in the region finds itself in dark days. Can anything save it?
Lifting the shadows on a secret war
Hunter Marston reviews Josh Kurlantzick's newly published study of the CIA's covert military operations in Laos.
Forty years of Lao PDR: what’s next?
The double-edged sword of development, and promise of prosperity for Laos in 2016.
The decline of Lao civil society
While donors strive to build a more visible face for Lao civil society, they may be contributing more to the destruction of its foundations.
“Foreign influence” in Red Shirt demonstrations
Grant Evans analyses the role of Lao citizens who support Thailand's Red Shirt movement
What happened to Sombath Somphone?
The mystery of a missing Lao development worker highlights Southeast Asia’s record of enforced disappearances
The colonel from Savannakhet
Kong Le went from soldiering to politics, only to discover that he was no politician; being a patriot was not enough to save his country from itself.