The Asia Foundation

Rule of law in Timor-Leste remains in a state of transition. Since Timor-Leste’s official declaration of independence and promulgation of the Constitution in 2002, there have been a range of notable achievements in the formal justice...

Rule of law in Timor-Leste remains in a state of transition. Since Timor-Leste’s official declaration of independence and promulgation of the Constitution in 2002, there have been a range of notable achievements in the formal justice sector: the penal and civil codes were drafted and adopted; court actors were trained and appointed to positions as judges, prosecutors, and public defenders; and a court of appeals and four district courts were established and operationalized.

To take stock of the citizenry’s perceptions of their justice system in light of developments over the last four years, The Asia Foundation conducted the second nationwide survey of Law and Justice in Timor-Leste: a Survey of Citizen Awareness and Attitudes Regarding Law and Justice in December 2008. This survey was made possible by the generous support of the Australian Agency for International Development/Justice Facility and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). A democracy assessment survey.

Press Release: The Asia Foundation in partnership with the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research released findings from their third opinion poll, the 2008 National Youth Survey, which gauges Malaysia's youth perceptions on lifestyle, current...

Press Release: The Asia Foundation in partnership with the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research released findings from their third opinion poll, the 2008 National Youth Survey, which gauges Malaysia's youth perceptions on lifestyle, current issues, values, politics, and their own levels of civic and social involvement.

The survey was conducted by Merdeka Center for Opinion Research through telephone interviews throughout Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak. A total of 2,518 respondents provided completed feedback using a structured questionnaire. Each...

The survey was conducted by Merdeka Center for Opinion Research through telephone interviews throughout Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak. A total of 2,518 respondents provided completed feedback using a structured questionnaire. Each respondent is defined as a youth aged 20 between 35 years old. The poll was conducted from 13th November to 9th December 2008. Sampling for the respondents was structured along the national population profile (specifically proportional to gender, ethnicity and state of residence).

The objectives of this survey were to get young adults in Malaysia to speak for themselves rather than others who speak on their behalf on issues pertaining to their participation in community activities and politics as well as their views towards lifestyle and values.

This is the third consecutive year Merdeka Center has been conducting the National Youth Survey with the support of the Asia Foundation.

For more than 20 years, The Asia Foundation has worked to empower Nepali women. Nepal is one of the least-developed countries in the world and experiences high rates of poverty, exacerbating the cultural disadvantages faced by Nepali...

For more than 20 years, The Asia Foundation has worked to empower Nepali women. Nepal is one of the least-developed countries in the world and experiences high rates of poverty, exacerbating the cultural disadvantages faced by Nepali women. To increase women’s opportunities and improve their status, the Foundation has protected women’s legal rights and reformed discriminatory laws and policies; provided educational scholarships to disadvantaged girls; supported vocational training and job placement for young women at-risk of trafficking and trafficking survivors; and trained women to run for elected office to ensure their needs are reflected in public decisionmaking.

Young-Sun Ha, Professor of International Politics at Seoul National University, discusses the upcoming Obama-Lee summit in Washington on June 16 and prospects for U.S.-South Korea relations. In light of Pyongyang's recent nuclear test,...

Young-Sun Ha, Professor of International Politics at Seoul National University, discusses the upcoming Obama-Lee summit in Washington on June 16 and prospects for U.S.-South Korea relations. In light of Pyongyang's recent nuclear test, Professor Ha highlights the North Korean nuclear issue and the war on terror in Afghanistan as the two major items on the agenda.

Scott Snyder assesses ways to deepen and broaden the foundation for U.S.-ROK alliance cooperation to promote a mutually acceptable relationship that responds to current and future needs in both security and nontraditional security...

Scott Snyder assesses ways to deepen and broaden the foundation for U.S.-ROK alliance cooperation to promote a mutually acceptable relationship that responds to current and future needs in both security and nontraditional security areas. This report was developed in collaboration with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

As part of China Environment Series 10 (2008/2009), a publication of the Wilson Center's China Environment Forum, this article examines Northeast Asian multilateral environmental cooperation in the Tumen region in terms of central-local...

As part of China Environment Series 10 (2008/2009), a publication of the Wilson Center's China Environment Forum, this article examines Northeast Asian multilateral environmental cooperation in the Tumen region in terms of central-local regional dynamics in Jilin province, China.

In order to understand how provinces are contributing to or preventing business growth, International Finance Corporation and The Asia Foundation have collaborated in developing the Provincial Business Environment Scorecard (PBES). PBES 2009...

In order to understand how provinces are contributing to or preventing business growth, International Finance Corporation and The Asia Foundation have collaborated in developing the Provincial Business Environment Scorecard (PBES). PBES 2009 ranks all 24 provinces on the quality of their economic governance. The PBES, which was first conducted in 2006 in 10 Cambodian provinces, and in 2009 covers all 24 provinces, relies largely on the perceptions of business leaders to generate a scorecard that ranks provinces on measures of business environment quality.

The Asia Foundation is working with the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) and other Afghan partners to strengthen the ability of the Ministry to more effectively enforce the new Afghan Labor Law and to...

The Asia Foundation is working with the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) and other Afghan partners to strengthen the ability of the Ministry to more effectively enforce the new Afghan Labor Law and to increase the understanding and awareness of the new law and other internationally recognized core labor standards among members of the judiciary, workers, employers, and the general public of Afghanistan.

THE EXPERIENCE OF THE ASIA FOUNDATION IN INDONESIA, CAMBODIA, VIETNAM, SRI LANKA, AND BANGLADESH

The Asia Foundation’s approach to effective economic governance builds on the knowledge that the engine for sustainable growth is...

THE EXPERIENCE OF THE ASIA FOUNDATION IN INDONESIA, CAMBODIA, VIETNAM, SRI LANKA, AND BANGLADESH

The Asia Foundation’s approach to effective economic governance builds on the knowledge that the engine for sustainable growth is the formal and informal MSME sector, the major source of employment for most countries in Asia. However, the growth and job-generation performance of MSMEs are often constrained by a wide spectrum of institutional obstacles. To address the constraints to MSME growth, the Foundation has developed specialized tools to analyze local business environments, measure the quality of local economic governance, assess progress through a set of quantitative and qualitative indicators, and support policy reforms. Local Economic Governance Indexes (EGIs), developed in collaboration with local and international partners, are one of these tools.

11x17 version.

The Asia Foundation’s approach to effective economic governance builds on the knowledge that the engine for sustainable growth is the formal and informal MSME sector, the major source of employment for most...

11x17 version.

The Asia Foundation’s approach to effective economic governance builds on the knowledge that the engine for sustainable growth is the formal and informal MSME sector, the major source of employment for most countries in Asia. However, the growth and job-generation performance of MSMEs are often constrained by a wide spectrum of institutional obstacles. To address the constraints to MSME growth, the Foundation has developed specialized tools to analyze local business environments, measure the quality of local economic governance, assess progress through a set of quantitative and qualitative indicators, and support policy reforms. Local Economic Governance Indexes (EGIs), developed in collaboration with local and international partners, are one of these tools.

This edition of the Corruption Benchmarking Survey surveyed more than 1,000 adult participants in Ulan Baatar, and in Zavkhan, Sukhbaatar, Tov and Khovsgul aimags (provinces). This is the largest sample undertaken since the first that was...

This edition of the Corruption Benchmarking Survey surveyed more than 1,000 adult participants in Ulan Baatar, and in Zavkhan, Sukhbaatar, Tov and Khovsgul aimags (provinces). This is the largest sample undertaken since the first that was conducted in March 2006, and thus is more statistically significant than the intervening surveys when the sample size was 600.

This survey is the seventh in a series, and provides time series data that identifies trends and patterns in citizen awareness, intolerance for corruption, and support for measures to combat corruption. The purpose of the survey series is to better understand the scope and incidence of corruption at the household level in Mongolia. Findings and conclusions serve to benchmark changes in experience, attitudes and perceptions over an extended period of time, and thereby contribute to better-informed policy-making, and the refinement of interventions and activities that inform and engage citizens as active participants in the effort to combat corruption in Mongolia.

For over 50 years, The Asia Foundation has been cooperating with Indonesian organizations to expand women’s rights and opportunities, and enable them to participate and be effective leaders in the political and economic life of their...

For over 50 years, The Asia Foundation has been cooperating with Indonesian organizations to expand women’s rights and opportunities, and enable them to participate and be effective leaders in the political and economic life of their society.