Political analyst Heydarian joins PDI

Well-known political analyst Richard Heydarian debuts in the Inquirer’s opinion section a weekly column, “Horizons,” that will focus on scrutinizing local politics, Asian geopolitics and international affairs.

“Readers can expect a big-picture view of the most contentious political, economic and geostrategic issues of our age,” Heydarian said. “The analysis will be based on facts, data, research, and with a view of the Philippine audience and its constant need for informed opinion.”

Heydarian has authored three books, including “The Rise of Duterte: A Populist Revolt against Elite Democracy,” published in 2017.

He also coauthored four other books discussing Asean and South China Sea issues.

Prolific pundit

A prolific pundit, Heydarian, 31, has contributed to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, South China Morning Post, Al Jazeera, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, The Economist and Nikkei Asian Review, among others.

He has also been invited to speak at the world’s leading universities, among them Columbia University, Harvard University, Stanford University, Australian National University and National University of Singapore.

On the local front, he is a familiar face on television as GMA 7’s resident political analyst. He has also appeared in other TV news programs analyzing current issues.

Heydarian served as policy advisor on foreign and overseas Filipino workers affairs in Congress.

A political science graduate of the University of the Philippines Diliman, Heydarian taught international affairs and political science at De La Salle and Ateneo de Manila universities.

In 2016, he was among the Ten Outstanding Young Men in the Philippines, recognized for his contributions to the social sciences.

He is active on Twitter (@richeydarian, with almost 10,000 followers), where he comments on issues of the day. His Facebook page has some 101,000 followers.