Foreword Michelguglielmo Torri, Foreword. Asia in 2022: The consequences of the war in Ukraine, US-China rivalry, democratic decline and popular protests Essays Silvia Menegazzi, China 2022: The 20th party congress and popular discontent in Xi Jinping's China Giulia Sciorati, China 2021-2022: A foreign policy of «re-branding» Marco Milani & Antonio Fiori, Korean peninsula 2022: Stuck between new leadership and old practices Corey Wallace & Giulio Pugliese, Japan 2022: Putin and Abe Shocks thwart Kishida's enjoyment of three golden years despite major defence overhaul Aurelio Insisa, Taiwan 2022: Cross-Strait security spirals further down Claudia Astarita, Hong Kong 2021-2022: A new life in the shadow of China Riwanto Tirtosudarmo & Peter B.R. Carey, Indonesia 2019-2022: The authoritarian turn as leitmotif of president Jokowi's second term Geoffrey C. Gunn, Timor-Leste 2021-2022: Electoral change and economic reset Saleena Saleem, Malaysia 2022: 15th general elections and deepening political polarisation Edoardo Siani, Thailand 2022: The «post-pandemic» era Matteo Fumagalli, Myanmar 2022: Fragmented sovereignties and the escalation of violence in multiple warscapes.