Appeasement of China on the travel front opens some interesting questions about what should count as a country.
Category: East Asia
2017 in review
A review of the big elections of the last year and the current state of the "populist" threat.
Election preview: Japan
Prime minister Shinzo Abe is seeking a fresh mandate, and seems unlikely to have much trouble getting it.
A very quick election roundup
An occasional feature. This week, Czechia, Japan, New Zealand, Germany, Australia and Catalonia.
Oh dear, it’s North Korea again
North Korea is staging its regular return to the headlines. Don't panic.
EOFY election roundup
As the financial year comes to a close, we tie up some loose ends on recent electoral news.
South Korea turns left
South Korea turns its back on ten years of conservative leadership, and a peacemaker takes over just when he's needed.
World election news
A roundup of election news from Austria, the United States, Mongolia and Australia.
Another dictator’s daughter in the lead
The daughter of Peru's jailed authoritarian leads in her country's presidential election. Meanwhile, South Korea's president, with a similar background, suffers a rebuff at the polls.
A Taiwanese landslide
A big opposition win in Taiwan brings risks of a more difficult relationship with China – an issue that the rest of the world can't afford to ignore.
The World is Not Enough 