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Though Polish voters in October ousted their right-wing populist government, recent elections in Slovakia and the Netherlands show that populism remains as malign and potent a political force as ever in Europe. But these outcomes also hold important lessons for the United States, where the specter of Donald Trump’s return to the White House haunts the runup to the 2024 presidential election.
缅甸军政府封锁其决定暂时放弃担任明年东盟(ASEAN)主席国的消息，表明其声望受到了沉重的打击。的确，这一决定并非出于自愿。军政府首脑Than Shwe将军“颜面尽失”并立刻消失在公众视线当中，以至于有的缅甸人认为他已经死了。
施压让执政当局放弃东盟轮值主席国之位的主角们却不是通常的西方人权活动分子，而是与缅甸最近的东盟邻国。对于军政府的将军们来说，这一点使得他们的退却痛苦得犹如伤口上撒盐。因为此前，东盟一直是缅甸抵御国际社会压力的最坚实的挡箭牌之一。
对东盟而言，这一事件是过度自信带来的教训。它表明持续不断的压力比其自缅甸加入东盟以来的八年里所追求的徒劳的“建设性接触”要有效。
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