Knowledge Hub

Join us! Education Series on People’s Resistance in South Asia The webinar will present major points on the economic, political and social-cultural situation of the people in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. DISCLAIMER: This video was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Asia […]

The global spread of CoVID-19 has caused an unprecedented global health crisis, with the number of infections and fatalities exponentially increasing each day. Governments across the world, especially in the Southeast and South Asia region have implemented strict lockdowns, along with a mass deployment of troops and armed forces among urban and rural communities. Such […]

Updated: August 2023 Economic response for whom? Even before the pandemic, the majority of these countries were already reeling from the impact of neoliberal policies that have been imposed mostly through the conditionalities of international financial institutions (IFIs). After decades of implementation, it has been proven that so-called push buttons for development and global competitiveness […]

The APRN Program on Building Democracy and Claiming Civic Spaces through its Workstream on Militarism and Program on Communities that Resist and Rebuild present the second episode of the APRN RnR video advocacy series. This is a series of videos aimed to discuss specific topics and issues CSOs face in the context of shrinking spaces. […]

The Asia Pacific Research Network, together with the International League of Peoples Struggles (ILPS), shall be launching a webinar/discussion entitled “Contagion and Conflicts: Rising repression and conflicts in the time of the pandemic”. The webinar shall discuss the rise of conflicts and the growing tensions within the Asia-Pacific region due to the unbridled emergence of […]

The dam was first proposed by Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the 1990s to promote Cambodia’s hydropower potential, but dropped off when their 1999 report found the dam’s potential repercussions outweighed the benefits. But the Cambodian government in 2007 proceeded with the project with the support of Vietnam’s EVN International Joint Stock Company. In 2012, […]

The World Bank funded Chico Dam Project in 1965 was the Marcos dictatorship’s answer to the oil and power crisis of 1973. It threatened to displace 100,000 people, deluge sacred burial grounds and rice terraces. Different tribes united and rose against the dam and militarization it brought. The death of leader Macli-ing Dulag in 1980 […]

As being one of the biggest in Southeast Asian region, did you know that Bakun dam is an inundated 700 sq. kilometers of forest and farms in Sarawak region in Malaysia? Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN), together with the International Indigenous People’s Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL), Asia Pacific Network of Environment Defenders (APNED) […]

The Mapithel Dam choked the Thoubal River ruining the environment, livelihood and culture of Indigenous Peoples living in the Mapithel Valley. For residents of submerged villages, Mapithel is the symbol of injustice. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) worked in financing its infrastructure and privatizing its water supply. Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN), together with […]

The APRN Program on Building Democracy and Claiming Civic Spaces through its Workstream on Militarism and Program on Communities that Resist and Rebuild present the launch of the APRN RnR video advocacy series. This is a series of videos aimed to discuss specific topics and issues CSOs face in the context of shrinking spaces. The […]

American independence has been based on the enslavement of Native Americans and peoples of color domestically; the primacy of neoliberal globalization clothed with the tenets of liberal democracy; and, its foreign policy of imposing unfair trade relations and flexing its military power to maintain global hegemony. The rise of US military dominance after World War […]

As we continue to struggle against one of the most recent global crises in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic, workers continue to sacrifice their health and safety in exchange for livelihood. Government policies and big businesses are pushing forward and demanding immediate normalcy status, putting workers at a high risk of infection, all while […]

Since the unprecedented lockdowns precipitated by the efforts to stop the spread of CoVID-19, governments have passed draconian laws restricting not only movement but also freedom of information. Worse, these laws are being used as a pre-text to silence and arrest regime critics. APRN believes that people’s rights should remain the fulcrum of pandemic response.

Updated: October 2023 Kashmir is a land-locked region in South Asia found between the borders of India, Pakistan,and China. The region is enveloped by the Himalayas, with the Indus River and its tributaries flowingacross its land. It intersects South Asia (India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) and East Asia (China)—which gives it great geopolitical importance. Due to […]

This book contains five studies aimed at providing insights on how civil society organizations are fulfilling their commitments contained in the Nairobi Outcome Document at the country level. Published by APRN and the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE), this book showcases the experiences of CSOs in Bolivia, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

On the run up to the 2018 Annual Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, APRN releases this primer to give an in-depth analysis of IMF and WBG’s role in shaping the neoliberal framework of global development, and how it seeks to push this narrative further amidst an imminent financial crisis, soaring […]

“The consequences of mega-FTAs on trade, labor and employment is much shown in many developing countries where, in order to maintain competitiveness, must adhere to “lowest common denominator rules” rather than meeting the highest possible standards. Recent developments in trade liberalization have permitted monopoly capitalists to dictate the cheapest value of labor and other production facilities, thereby disregarding decent standards, to accumulate bigger profit.”

After 22 negotiation rounds and several missed deadlines, the 10 ASEAN countries and their 6 free trade partners will meet again in July 2018 to try and move forward the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. While India’s hard stance on certain issues like tariff reduction has been a big factor in slowing down the past […]

ASEAN is being projected as a destination for investments because of its growth rate at 5.3%1, which is currently faster than the US at 3.1%, and the EU at 2.5%. However, these numbers do not adequately reflect the realities on the ground. Perhaps, the starkest evidence of this is the rising inequality and concentration of […]

APRN has released two briefers on militarism: Militarism and the Agenda 2030 and Militarism and the Environment. Militarism and the Agenda 2030 delves into the impacts of militarist policies on people’s rights and welfare, and how Agenda 2030 missed in recognizing and addressing this important issue even as it claims to work on building peaceful […]

The theme of the upcoming 4th Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development is “Eradicating Poverty and Promoting Prosperity in a Changing Asia Pacific.” The theme speaks of the need to successfully implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region. Solving the development needs in Asia Pacific will have significant global impacts as the region is home to almost 60% of the world’s population. The region is also home to the 60% of world’s hungry, and almost half of the world’s poorest. Average income levels in the region in real terms are on a downward trend as inequality within and between Asia Pacific countries continue to rise.

Indonesia’s President Jokowi has launched the ambitious “100-0-100 Program” with a laudable goal of 100 per cent access to potable water, 0 slums, and 100 per cent access to sanitation for urban inhabitants by 2019. The Cities Without Slums Program (KOTAKU) is a national platform funded by various sources, including central and local governments, the […]

With the lackluster performance of the WTO negotiations in the past years, monopoly capital has renewed its focus on bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs). This reorientation aims to push contentious issues that would otherwise not be possible to advance within the context of a multilateral trade regime such as the WTO. This strategy […]