Philippines election report

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democracy, drugs, elections, fieldwork, government, human rights, Philippines, politics, poverty, power, voting

Interested in how Filipino elections really work?

A tremendous report involving on the ground reporting is available here.

Indonesia’s new era?

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Christianity, class, culture, democracy, demographics, elections, fieldwork, geography, government, history, Indonesia, Islam, jakarta, Java, politics, power, religion, research, social media, society, Sumatra

In the wake of the Indonesian elections some of the deeper analysis has started emerging.

The insights these analysis contain have taken time to identify and shape into coherent narratives, but these will reveal more than the “first draft of history” that define media reports.

Among the best of the analysis to date is here. A summary? Ideology may, just may, be coming to the forefront of Indonesian politics, possibly gravitating away from the traditional model of competitive patronage.

Anyway, the article is very interesting and highly recommended reading.

The probability of death working on Indonesia’s elections

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elections, Indonesia, research, statistics

I want to draw your attention to the link here.

The summary for the time poor or those with little interest in reading the story is the death of 270 Indonesian election workers in the week and a half since the Indonesian election/s.

The deaths are certainly a tragedy, but do they have the statistical significance to merit news headlines?

I believe that most Indonesian election staff work hard, and many bear the brunt of bitter critiscism amid rampant accusations of partisanship.

I also need to guess some of the numbers, but over 800,000 polling places × 8 workers in each is the equivalent of a city of (at least) 6.4 million people.

There’s also the point that “overwork” isn’t a virus or a lethal medical condition.

But… how likely is it that in the equivalent of a city of 6.4 million people that 270 people would die every two weeks anyway, election or no election or stress or no stress?

There are complicating considerations, such as the election workforce being largely of a more healthy working age, but given the election “city” size may be even larger in reality, the figures suggest that maybe it is safer for Indonesians working on the election than not…

The imminent Canadian/Filipino military conflict

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conflict, diplomacy, government, Philippines, politics, power, security

Wondering if I have lost my mind with this post?

The bads news I am serious in alerting you to the aggressive threat announced by a head of state.

In normal times that would be very bad news indeed, but when you read the story here the fear may morph into mere incredulity…

What’s next in Indonesian politics?

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elections, government, human rights, Indonesia, politics, poverty, power, voting

Such was the lack of serious interest and excitement in the just completed Indonesian Presidential election, minds are already turning to the future.

As the article here suggests, there doesn’t appear much hope for great change in Indonesian politics anytime soon.

But there are names already being mentioned…

Old strategies…

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elections, government, Indonesia, law, politics, power, social media, voting

…but no real new twist.

The article here is a couple of days old, but it was interesting to see whether the predictions were accurate.

For what it is worth, I think the authors’ foresight proved very prescient.

Today is decision day…

Tags

elections, Indonesia, politics, poverty, power, social media, society, voting

…in Indonesia’s festival of democracy. For those interested the link here seems to provide a good summary.

Noken voting

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culture, elections, human rights, Indonesia, politics, power, society, voting

Want to read more about noken voting in Indonesia’s imminent elections? A quick summary is available here.

An insight into candidate Prabowo

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elections, Indonesia, Islam, jakarta, Java, politics, power, Sumatra

With days to go until the Indonesian elections, an insight into Indonesia’s Presidential hopeful Prabowo is online here.

On his second attempt at winning the Presidency, Prabowo has received enough scrutiny to ensure there are few mysteries around his policies and persona.

If that’s who Indonesia chooses then so be it, and there are enough clues in the article to leave little doubt on the probable contours of his Presidency.

Southeast Asia’s ancient humans

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archaeology, environment, fieldwork, history, nature, Philippines, research

Our understanding of Southeast Asia’s evolutionary history has again inched forward.

This time it is a discovery in the Philippines, described in the media here.

If I have time later today I will look for the relevant academic paper/s and provide a link.