Quarterly

Since the 1980s, the World Bank has been closely associated with the Washington Consensus — a set of policy prescriptions that urged developing countries to deregulate their markets and curb government spending in exchange for development aid. But in early 2016, the Bank's former Chief Economist Francois Bourguignon recommended the exact opposite.

This issue of of PRAKSIS, "Transitions to Democracy: Options for Myanmar," is the second of a two-part special edition on the ongoing civic uprising in Myanmar. The first part was released in August to commemorate the 8888 Uprising. It featured articles from Myanmar activists to honor all those who have fought for democracy and to encourage the Burmese people to remain steadfast and never falter from the struggle.

In 2016, the world had changed in ways that no pundit could have completely foreseen.

This latest issue of the Socdem Asia Quarterly appears a year after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic because of its “alarming levels of spread and severity.” Since then, the virus has infected more than 123 million people, and has claimed the lives of nearly 3 million individuals. But apart from its horrific death toll, the social consequences of the disease are also equally catastrophic—devastating even the strongest economies, heightening global inequality and plunging millions of people into ever deepening poverty.

Last November 9, American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced that its experimental vaccine against COVID-19 has shown significant results, with an efficacy rate of 90%. Though clinical trials are still ongoing, the company's CEO, Dr.

There is a scene in the novel The Plague by French author Albert Camus that would break even the stoutest of hearts.

For nearly six months, a bubonic outbreak had been ravaging the port city of Oran, off the Algerian coast. Though troubled by the death and suffering of the people around him, town physician Dr. Bernard Rieux decided to “steel himself against pity,” believing that it was the only way he could face the “almost unendurable burden of his days.”

On 20 November 2019, opposition leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit of Future Forward Party (FWP) was stripped of his parliamentary seat by Thailand’s military-backed Constitutional Court. Though intended to harass the country’s budding opposition, Thanathorn and his party comrades exhibited considerable grace and confidence as they hosted a regional conference on the emerging threats to democracy three days later.

When the World Wide Web was finally made public on 6 August 1991, most political pundits greeted this event with excitement enthusiasm, claiming that this new form of virtual technology will be an absolute boon for democracy. The free flow of information, they argued, will not only empower ordinary citizens, but would also undermine ossified bureaucracies and disrupt outmoded forms of administrative practices.

We cannot think of a better time to release this latest issue of the Quarterly.

Even as this piece is being written, leaders, activists and intellectuals are heading to Kuala Lumpur to celebrate the 10th year anniversary of Socdem Asia. Expected to be the largest gathering of Asian progressives in recent memory, this event aims to take stock of the victories that the Network has achieved in the last decade, and the challenges that it now has to face as it attempts to craft a better alternative for all the peoples of Asia.

The special edition of Socdem Asia Quarterly builds on the outputs and discussions from the Socdem Asia Regional Conference with the similar theme, “Reimagining a New Welfare Model in Asia” in April 13-16, 2018 in Cebu City, Philippines. It aims to broaden and deepen the discourse to Socdem Asia partners. Five national papers were solicited, which delve on specific topics covered by the regional framing paper.