May 18, 2011

Asia Foundation president suggests far-ranging impacts of uprisings

"As with the collapse of the Berlin Wall more than two decades ago, the reverberations of the 'Arab Awakening' are being felt well beyond the Middle East," said Asia Foundation president David D. Arnold during his May 4 talk at Stanford about the recent uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East. He suggested that for countries in Asia and other parts of the world, the uprisings are a reminder that a strong economy is not a replacement for good governance and that democracy can take place anywhere in the world. In Asia, the Asia Foundation blog, provides an overview of Arnold's talk supplemented by essays, including "Worlds at Stake in Arab Reform" by Southeast Asia Forum director Donald Emmerson and "The 'Libya Model' and What’s Next in North Korea" and "Springtimes of Political Reform: Looking to East Asia for Clues to Democratic Consolidation" by former Pantech Fellow Scott Snyder. The full audio of Arnold's Stanford talk is now available online.

• » The Arab Awakening: Governance Lessons for Asia and Beyond
  
• » Stanford Daily: Arnold explains the Arab Awakening
• » In Asia: The Arab Awakening: Governance lessons for Asia and beyond
• » In Asia: Worlds at stake in Arab reform
• » In Asia: Springtimes of political reform: Looking to East Asia for clues to democratic consolidation
• » In Asia: The 'Libya model' and what's next in North Korea