Imran Said

Imran Said is a freelance writer currently based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He has written on international security, history, and politics for several publications.

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7 Posts

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, wearing a white dress, holds raised hands with Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Paparazzi in the backg

The Year of Elections

An unprecedented number of elections took place in Africa, Asia, and Latin America this year. Their results suggest that prospects for democracy are mixed.

Imran Said

9 Dec 2024 · 18 min read

In Southeast Asia, the Bad Guys are Staging a Comeback

Across Southeast Asia, former autocrats are staging their comebacks, exploiting ethnic and religious divisions, as well as fragile institutions. In Myanmar, a decade of cautious democratisation was violently upended by a military coup last year, while, in more recent times, once-disgraced kleptocratic forces in the Philippines and Malaysia have managed

Imran Said

10 Jun 2022 · 8 min read

Across the Muslim World, Islamism is Going out of Vogue

Islamism as an ideology may be great at mobilizing people, but this doesn’t necessarily translate towards effective governance, as has been proven again and again

Imran Said

21 Jan 2022 · 15 min read

Pax Americana is Here to Stay

Lost in much of the fretting (or boasting) about American declinism is the massive lead the American economy continues to hold over China, despite four decades of rapid growth for the latter.

Imran Said

18 Aug 2020 · 8 min read

Indonesia's Unlikely Democracy Remains Resilient

Despite the brief unrest that followed the announcement of Jokowi’s victory, the election of April 17 stands as a testament to the continuing resilience of Indonesia’s young democracy.

Imran Said

6 Jun 2019 · 12 min read

Malaysia's Struggle to Preserve Religious Pluralism

Residing in Malaysia in the final years of the Najib administration, one could be forgiven for thinking society had somehow collectively lost its mind.

Imran Said

6 Jan 2019 · 12 min read

Neo-Orientalism and the Left

This Orientalism has clouded how many on the Western Left understand and approach minority cultures within their own societies.

Imran Said

31 Jan 2018 · 6 min read