In this episode, we’re gonna take a sweeping look at Southeast Asia's political, economic, and security landscape. The region sits at a geopolitical crossroads, a position that has created huge potential and a delicate balancing act between China and the U.S.

As an intrinsically diverse region, different countries pursue different levels of ambition. The difficulties the region has in finding a unified voice are clearly visible daily, whether it is in the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, the environmental challenges facing the Mekong region, or the protest-inducing corruption scandals in countries like the Philippines and Indonesia.

So is Southeast Asia meeting its potential? We asked Pita Limjaroenrat, former Prime Minister designate of Thailand and current Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Huong Le Thu, Deputy Director of the Asia Program at the International Crisis Group.

The conversation, recorded live on stage at our annual STATE OF ASIA CONFERENCE last month, is led by James Crabtree, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and advisor to Asia Society Switzerland.

Find more information on STATE OF ASIA 2025, including videos, on the Asia Society website.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.
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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Published: December 16, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

This episode unpacks a pivotal year for India. Suhasini Haidar, diplomatic editor at The Hindu, explains how Delhi has adapted to unexpected tensions with the U.S., renewed pragmatism toward China, and its enduring reliance on Russia, while preparing for major trade negotiations with Washington and Brussels.

Milan Vaishnav, Senior Fellow and Director, South Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, explores India’s internal politics: Modi’s continued dominance, the realities of coalition governance, and growing federal pushback from southern states. He shows how foreign policy has become central to Modi’s domestic appeal, and why that can cut both ways.

Geopolitical analyst, author, and former India correspondent for the Financial Times James Crabtree discusses why strong growth isn’t creating enough jobs, India’s modest gains in the “China+1” landscape, and the political constraints shaping trade policy. Plus: a look at how India’s model of crony capitalism has evolved over the past decade.

The conversations were recorded live, on stage, at the 2025 STATE OF ASIA conference, held November 6 in Zurich.

Find more information on STATE OF ASIA 2025, including videos, on the Asia Society website.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.
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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Published: December 9, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

At the 2025 STATE OF ASIA conference, we hosted two conversations focused on China.

First, hear from Desmond Shum, entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and author of the internationally acclaimed memoir Red Roulette, presenting a rare and authoritative perspective on the intersection of global business and Chinese elite politics.

Then, Abigaël Vasselier of the EU's External Action Service, shares her perspectives on China's next chapter and the country's relationship with Europe, in conversation with sinologist Simona Grano of the University of Zurich.

The conversations were recorded live, on stage, at the 2025 STATE OF ASIA conference, held November 6 in Zurich.

Find more information on STATE OF ASIA 2025, including videos, on the Asia Society website.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.
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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Published: December 2, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

How is Europe's role evolving amidst a retreating U.S. and a more fragmented global order?

With middle powers repositioning themselves for greater agency and partnership, particularly in Asia, is Europe making enough of the new dynamic for cooperation with countries like Japan, South Korea, and Australia on fundamental issues like security, defense, trade, and technological governance?

Listen to an engaging conversation, led by the FT's Mercedes Ruehl, with Huong Le Thu of the International Crisis Group, Henrietta Levin of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Abigaël Vasselier, Asia Pacific strategic coordinator for the EU's foreign service.

Their discussion was recorded live, on stage, at the 2025 STATE OF ASIA conference, held November 6 in Zurich.

Find more information on STATE OF ASIA 2025, including videos, on the Asia Society website.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.
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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Published: November 25, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

How do you summarize the state of the world in 20 minutes and still have it make sense? By inviting two excellent speakers to take on that challenge, is what we found out at our annual STATE OF ASIA conference, held November 6 in Zurich.

Listen to Pita Limjaroenrat, former Prime Minister-designate of Thailand, in conversation with Suhasini Haidar, diplomatic editor of The Hindu, who kicked off the day-long event with an engaging overview of sobering reflections and possible hopeful signs.

Find more information on STATE OF ASIA 2025, including videos, on the Asia Society website.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.
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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Published: November 18, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

Pita Limjaroenrat, former Prime-Minister Designate of Thailand and current Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, delivers the fourth annual State of Asia Address, hosted by Asia Society Switzerland and the University of Zurich.

In a packed Aula, he spoke about the period of transition the world finds itself in, with the post-post Cold War era having ended, but a new chapter yet to be written. He laid out what this means for power, progress, and peace in Asia.

The full Address, including a conversation between Pita and University of Zurich economics professor Ralph Ossa, is also available on Asia Society's YouTube channel.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.
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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Published: November 10, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

2025 marks 50 years since Vietnam's reunification. A great moment to reflect on the country's remarkable transformation. Since launching major economic reforms four decades ago, Vietnam has achieved one of the world’s fastest growth rates, attracting global investment as companies shift production from China.

Today, it's a lower middle-income nation with bold ambitions to become a developed, high-income country by 2045. But, as Vietnam looks ahead, it faces significant challenges, from how to unleash more human creativity and reforming institutions to getting badly needed investments in infrastructure off the ground.

And like every other country, Vietnam cannot escape dealing with a fragmenting world order, that will challenge its famed bamboo diplomacy, where Hanoi works to be friends with everyone. Something that might no longer suit a geopolitical environment that incereasingly demands chosing sides.

In this episode, hear dr. Hai Hong Nguyen discuss all these points, and more. He's a senior lecturer in politics, social change, and international relations at VinUniversity in Hanoi.

This conversation is part of our long-running web series A Closer Look and available as video on the Asia Society YouTube channel.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.
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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 8, episode 16 - Published: July 8, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

South Korea is heading to the polls to elect a successor to impeached President Yoon, whose failed attempt to put the country under martial law back in December laid bare the deep divisions and gloom that plague Korean society.

We talk about all this with Eunwoo Lee in Seoul, from where he writes for The Diplomat.

Want more Korea? Join us in Zurich on June 25 for an evening with stellar Korean author Bora Chung. More info and tickets on our website.

A solid analysis of the challenges South Korea faces as it heads to the polls, from Carnegie's Chung Min Lee is here.

More on the exhibition Hallyu! which runs through August 17 at the Rietberg Museum in Zurich.

Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.
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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 8, episode 15 - Published: May 27, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland