Letter from the Editors
Crises come in all forms, from armed conflict to pitched political battles.
Welcome to the June 2023 issue of The Diplomat Magazine.
A crisis can come in many forms, and as many states know all too well often one crisis cascades into myriad others. In this issue we take a look at several crises unfolding across Asia, from pitched political battles in Pakistan to armed resistance in Myanmar; from the products of populist politicking in autocratic Uzbekistan to the Taiwanese who have chosen to stand on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine. Along the way, we explore the motives of the various actors in these literal or figurative conflicts.
When former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested on May 9, Pakistan’s long-simmering political crisis boiled over. His supporters violently attacked military properties in a rare scene of defiance against Pakistan’s powerful army. Ayesha Siddiqa, a renowned expert on Pakistan’s civil-military relations, explains the battlelines in the current crisis. On one side is Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir; on the other is former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was first brought to power and then stripped of office by the military’s machinations. Khan has widespread popular support, Siddiqa notes, due to the perception that “he has the capability to clean up Pakistan’s image, push back the powerful army, and turn the place around.” But as Siddiqa argues, Khan’s fight with Munir is more personal than principled, and thus “Khan’s political pushback is very limited in its design.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked an avalanche of commentary comparing the plight of Ukraine with Taiwan, which also lives under the perpetual threat of violent conquest by its larger neighbor. While political rhetoric equating the two is commonplace, some Taiwanese have taken the convergence a step further by actually taking up arms to defend Ukraine. James Baron, a journalist and author based in Taiwan, interviews three Taiwanese men who have fought on Ukrainian battlefields to understand their motives, which range from common cause – “I was imagining this happening in Taiwan,” one told Baron – to a belief that Taiwan itself will eventually need battle-hardened fighters.
Since 2016, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s reforms have often served two purposes: a populist aim paired with an overriding interest in regime security. As Madina Amin – an independent researcher from Uzbekistan writing under a pen name – explains, everything the Uzbek president has done, regardless of the tangible benefits of some of the reforms, has been a façade for efforts to tighten his grip on power. The recent constitutional referendum and upcoming snap presidential election will technically enable Mirziyoyev to remain in power until 2037, but his reform push has raised expectations. A crisis may loom if he cannot meet the rising demands of the Uzbek people.
Finally, journalist Rajeev Bhattacharyya, after making a rare trip to a conflict zone in Myanmar, explains how one city in the country’s northwest became an early leader in the anti-coup resistance – first through peaceful protests, and later by taking up arms. Kalay, a city in Sagaing Region, has a long history of agitating against repressive governments; locals were thus quick to demonstrate their anger after Myanmar’s military seized power in February 2021. Since then, developments in the city have paralleled the country’s overall descent into civil war: from peaceful protest to a bloody crackdown to an all-out conflict between the military and armed groups representing the shadow government.
We hope you enjoy these stories and the many more in the following pages.