Letter from the Editors

Welcome to the January 2023 issue of The Diplomat Magazine and welcome to 2023!

As always, for our January issue we’ve gathered Diplomat authors from across Asia to help us manage our expectations for the year to come. In our cover story you’ll find our authors, organized by country or region, highlighting three events or trends to watch in the next year. These aren’t meant to be predictive but rather serve as an insightful heads-up for the hot topics of 2023. From elections to diplomatic summits to the continuing impact of the war in Ukraine – and resulting global economic downturn – this is what to pay attention to in the new year.

Last year, 2022, began with the dramatic explosion of unrest and violence in Kazakhstan. What began as protests over the sudden doubling of fuel prices in the country’s west quickly ignited deeper political grievances across the country. As Assel Tutumlu, an associate professor in Political Science at Near East University in Northern Cyprus, explains, Qandy Qantar – meaning “Bloody January” in Kazakh – can be interpreted in many ways. Nevertheless one thing is clear: The old social contract established under Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has unraveled. Whether current President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev can forge a new social contract with his “New Kazakhstan” vision, one satisfactory to a newly awoken Kazakh public, remains eminently unclear.

Nepal, too, is in the grips of political change – whether its leaders like it or not. As Kathmandu-based journalist Biswas Baral explains, Nepali politics is marked by a long history of instability. With governments cobbled together via unwieldy coalitions, no prime minister has yet completed a five-year term. In that sense, Nepal’s 2022 general election was no different; once again no party has a clear majority and ideological enemies-turned-political allies don’t raise many hopes for stability. But a change may be in the winds, as new faces – and a new political party – outperformed expectations in the polls. “The old establishment parties have been warned,” Baral writes: “They either deliver or they will soon be irrelevant.” 

Finally, Emily Benson, a senior fellow with the Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explores the growing fissures between the United States and its allies on export controls. Once a niche subject followed only by economic policy wonks, export controls have become a crucial lever in China-U.S. tech competition – and thus a matter of both interest and importance to the world. As the United States expands the application of extraterritorial export controls in an attempt to stonewall China’s tech development, Benson notes, getting allies on board will be key. So far, however, that’s proved to be a difficult task.

We hope you enjoy these stories, and the many more in the following pages. And on behalf of The Diplomat, we wish you all the best in the New Year.