In recent years, Southeast Asian nations have significantly increased their military spending and arms acquisitions, e.g., in 2025, Indonesia's military spending rose by 28% and Vietnam’s by 27%; the Philippines has expanded US access to its military bases from five sites to nine and hosts US mid-range missile systems.

Red-light districts in Western liberal democracies are areas where sex work can legally operate. They have recently suffered a decline due to municipal redevelopment efforts and falling consumership in favour of online alternatives.

For the purposes of this debate, a “fast-track approval pathway” is a special regulatory pathway that shortens the time from a project’s proposal to its execution. It combines multiple permits into a single application, lowers stringency of approval requirements, narrows the scope of environmental and safety assessments, and limits the window for public and legal objections.

Economic nihilism refers to the belief that traditional markers of socioeconomic success (e.g. homeownership, "nest egg" retirement funds) are permanently unattainable in the future due to breakdown of the modern-day economic system (e.g. higher costs of living, stagnating wages). As a result, economic nihilism prompts a shift away from career fulfillment and long-term investment, towards labour detachment and short-term consumption.