About

Sebastian Strangio is a journalist and author focusing on Southeast Asia. Since 2008, his reporting from across the region has appeared in more than 30 leading publications in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

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Thai Monuments Are Disappearing in the Dead of Night

Thai Monuments Are Disappearing in the Dead of Night

This week’s student protests are part of a backlash against a monarchist elite trying to erase Thailand’s democratic history.
The Myanmar Mirage: How the West got Burma wrong

The Myanmar Mirage: How the West got Burma wrong

Just few years ago, Myanmar (also called Burma) was widely seen as an international success story.
Malaysia Wrestles With Beijing's One Belt One Road Bonanza

Malaysia Wrestles With Beijing’s One Belt One Road Bonanza

The sales office for Forest City, one of Malaysia’s largest residential property developments, looks less like an office than an airport hangar or a museum atrium: a futuristic dome flooded with noise and light.
Suharto Museum Celebrates a Dictator’s Life, Omitting the Dark Chapters

Suharto Museum Celebrates a Dictator’s Life, Omitting the Dark Chapters

Indonesia’s former dictator looms in bronze over the entrance to the small museum set amid the palm trees and rice fields of central Java.
Pankaj Mishra on the Violent Transition to Modernity

Pankaj Mishra on the Violent Transition to Modernity

At the center of gravity shifts east, Pankaj Mishra argues that the West’s own fateful experience of modernity is playing out globally
'Meet Kill'

‘Meet Kill’

When Kem Ley’s murderer was asked for his name, he offered a chilling sobriquet: ‘Chuob Samlap’ – literally, ‘Meet Kill.’
The Rise, Fall and Possible Renewal of a Town in Laos on China’s Border

The Rise, Fall and Possible Renewal of a Town in Laos on China’s Border

For five years, this remote town on the China-Laos border has lived in the shadow of more prosperous times.
Vietnam: Forty Years Later

Vietnam: Forty Years Later

Forty years after the war, it is the ideals of the former South Vietnam that appear ascendant.
How a Brutal Khmer Rouge Leader Died 'Not Guilty'

How a Brutal Khmer Rouge Leader Died ‘Not Guilty’

A verdict was never reached in Ieng Sary’s human rights abuses case. His story reveals the limitations of international tribunals.
As Asia Rises and Europe Declines, Russia Invests Its Hopes in its Far East

As Asia Rises and Europe Declines, Russia Invests Its Hopes in its Far East

Vladivostok, a Pacific port city long in decline, is being revitalized by Moscow. But the city’s slow integration with China, Japan, and South Korea is clashing with its long-Slavic identity. Can a city be both European and Asian?
Latest entries
Dictators Everywhere Are Stumping for Trump

Dictators Everywhere Are Stumping for Trump

From Cambodia to Zimbabwe to North Korea, the Republican nominee has cornered the authoritarian autocrat demographic.
In Cambodia, everything is different but nothing has changed

In Cambodia, everything is different but nothing has changed

As is usual at this point in the electoral cycle, the Cambodian government is clamping down hard on its opponents.
The King Is Dead. Is Thailand’s Monarchy Next?

The King Is Dead. Is Thailand’s Monarchy Next?

Thailand’s revered king held the country together for more than 70 years. But his son’s succession could threaten everything he built.
Crony In the Forest

Crony In the Forest

On Google Maps the Boeng Per Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Cambodia is marked by a patch of theoretical green, like each of the country’s 32 national parks and protected areas.
The 'lawless' playgrounds of Laos

The ‘lawless’ playgrounds of Laos

A Chinese gambling enclave in a remote part of Laos has become a ‘semi-lawless’ zone where gambling, prostitution, and illicit trades flourish.
Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless

Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless

The family of Cambodian dictator Hun Sen sits on at least $200 million. But it might not save them from populist anger.
Activist murder heightens political tensions in Cambodia

Activist murder heightens political tensions in Cambodia

Political tensions are intensifying in Cambodia following the brazen daytime killing of a high-profile activist in the capital Phnom Penh.
Aung San Suu Kyi faces dilemma over controversial dam project

Aung San Suu Kyi faces dilemma over controversial dam project

Since its suspension five years ago, the $3.6 billion Myitsone hydropower project has come to symbolize the bad old days in Myanmar.
Tourist hordes put strain on Luang Prabang’s heritage

Tourist hordes put strain on Luang Prabang’s heritage

The enthusiasm of tourists for Luang Prabang’s heady charms has brought prosperity to the former royal capital of Laos, but is the influx of visitors damaging its cultural treasures?
The new 'explorers'

The new ‘explorers’

In June 1866, six Frenchmen departed from Ho Chi Minh City on a dangerous mission up the mighty Mekong River.
China's footprint kicks up concerns in tiny Laos

China’s footprint kicks up concerns in tiny Laos

The Kings Romans Casino stands out in this remote corner of northwestern Laos, its giant illuminated neon crown towering over a landscape of banana plantations and jungle-clad mountains.
As a frontier economy booms, Cambodia's capital rises

As a frontier economy booms, Cambodia’s capital rises

PHNOM PENH — For most of its history, the sleepy Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh was best known for its charming, tree-lined boulevards and Buddhist pagodas.