@mongster is a manila-based activist, former philippine legislator, and blogger/analyst of asia-pacific affairs.
Nationalism was the powerful and revolutionary idea which inspired and mobilized the people of colonized countries in Southeast Asia to fight for their political independence after World War II. Then, post-colonial governments invoked it to unify their nations against real or imagined foreign aggressors. In the era of globalization, nationalism became appealing once more for […]
The Philippines receives international attention every time a freak storm hits the islands. It becomes more interesting to the global audience if floods, volcanic eruptions and super quakes destroy the communities of islanders. It’s pitied for being the most disaster-prone country in the world. But it also ‘trends’ because of its youtube-famous dancing prisoners, boxing […]
Part 1: The Committed Generations Part 2: Senior Citizen activists Part 3: Veterans The Philippine-American War claimed the lives of one million Filipinos and nearly wiped out the country’s carabaos (we had to import water buffaloes from Indonesia after the war). In Balangiga, Samar Province, no adults were allowed to survive. Those who died in […]
The Internet is increasingly being used by many Southeast Asians for various nationalist campaigns. Even government leaders are maximizing cyberspace to promote unity and patriotism in their countries. This trend is encouraging since it gives ordinary citizens the chance to express a sense of belonging to their larger communities. However, there are also ultra-nationalist online […]
