My guest today is Michael Vatikiotis who is a writer, journalist and private diplomat working in Southeast Asia (SEA) since 1987. He was formerly editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review as well as a journalist in Asia for more than three decades. He currently lives in Singapore and is the Asia Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based private foundation that facilitates dialogue to resolve armed conflicts.
Michael has written two novels set in Indonesia and three books on the politics of SEA, including ‘Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in modern Southeast Asia’, which we focused on today. Some of topics we covered include: ‘delusion’ of democracy in SEA; power of the elites; question of SEA identity; Western misunderstanding of SEA; China’s influence and role; reality of regional circumstances; US/China contestation; Australia and AUKUS; reality of adjustment and accommodation as well as issues plaguing traditional and social media.
---
Full show notes:
My guest today is Michael Vatikiotis who is a writer, journalist and private diplomat working in Southeast Asia since 1987. He was formerly editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review as well as a journalist in Asia for more than three decades. He currently lives in Singapore and is the Asia Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based private foundation that facilitates dialogue to resolve armed conflicts.
Michael has written two novels set in Indonesia and three books on the politics of Southeast Asia, including ‘Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in modern Southeast Asia’, which we’ll focus on a lot today, as well as ‘Political Change in Southeast Asia: Trimming the Banyan Tree’. His latest book ‘Lives Between The Lines: A Journey in Search of the Lost Levant’ was published in August this year. In addition to his books, Michael regularly writes opinion pieces for international and regional newspapers and is a regular contributor to outlets such Al Jazeera and the BBC.
Michael is a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and gained his doctorate form the University of Oxford.
He joins me today to discuss social, political and cultural dynamics of Southeast Asia and the role it plays, or is likely to play, in the complex world of modern geopolitics. Some of the topics we covered include:
70. Dr Alexander Bellamy - R2P, Just War and prospects of World Peace - Part 1
69. Amanda Hsiao - China, US and Taiwan: A deep dive
68. Special Release: Dr Mike Martin and John Spencer - An update on Ukraine
67. Paul Ingram - On the threat of nuclear war and hopes of disarmament
66. Dr Jessica Wolfendale - On torture, war crimes and moral responsibility - Part 2
65. Dr Jessica Wolfendale - On torture, war crimes and moral responsibility - Part 1
64. John Spencer - On Ukraine, Urban Warfare and lessons learnt
63. Dr Ned Dobos - On the unaccounted costs of maintaining a military
62. Abby Zeith and Ruben Stewart: International Humanitarian Law in Urban Warfare
61. Brigadier Mark Ascough - On Military Intelligence
60. Dr Tony Ingesson - On military sub-cultures and their impact on behaviour
59. My personal reflections on war
58. Dr Mike Martin and LTGEN (Ret.) Arne Dalhaug - Update on the Russian invasion of Ukraine
57. John Gartner - Reflections on a lifetime of service in the Special Forces
56. Andy Norman - Mental Immunity: Inoculating against conspiracies and disinformation
55. Jason Pack - On the ’Global Enduring Disorder’
54. Duncan Spinner - The Fight for at-risk Ukrainians
53. Dr Deane-Peter Baker: State Ethics vs Soldier Morality
52. Dr David Whetham - On the Ethics of War, War Crimes and Ethical Decision Making
51. Carl Miller - On Information Warfare, Social Media and pro-Russian influence campaigns in BRICS
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL