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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Author Archive
Cambodian Democracy Makes Its Last Gasps

Cambodian Democracy Makes Its Last Gasps

An indifferent United States and assertive China have emboldened one of Asia’s longest-serving leaders to embrace outright authoritarianism.
Welcome to the Post-Human Rights World

Welcome to the Post-Human Rights World

Geopolitical realignments and the rise of populist nationalism have unleashed a global backlash against human rights.
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
Power and Democracy

Power and Democracy

The late historian Benedict Anderson once reflected that voting was a peculiar form of political action.
Reading Burma

Reading Burma

On four new books that complicate the international image of Burma’s emergence from a half-century of military rule.
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.
'Meet Kill'

‘Meet Kill’

When Kem Ley’s murderer was asked for his name, he offered a chilling sobriquet: ‘Chuob Samlap’ – literally, ‘Meet Kill.’
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.