Richard Javad Foronda Heydarian is a Filipino political scientist, public thinker, and media personality. As an academic and global columnist, he has penned numerous articles for global media outlets, including The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, and The Guardian, as well as authored or co-authored more than a dozen academic books. He has been described as "a leading voice on Philippine politics, ASEAN, Asian geopolitics, and populism." He has also been regularly interviewed by ABC Australia, Al Jazeera, BBC, Bloomberg, CNN International, CNBC, and DW. As a global affairs specialist, he has been interviewed by journalists such as Christiane Amanpour, Fareed Zakaria, and Maria Ressa. An advocate for human rights and a prominent critic of authoritarian leaders, most notably President Rodrigo Duterte, he has repeatedly faced online attacks and legal harassment throughout the years. Heydarian, along with two other respondents, won a landmark Supreme Court case in mid-2026 affirming his freedom of speech in light of his public criticism of the high court's ruling regarding Vice-President Sara Duterte's impeachment.
Heydarian is also a regular contributor to London-based Monocle Magazine; a columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Philippines' newspaper of record; and regularly writes for international outlets such as the Nikkei Asia Global South World and the South China Morning Post. Heydarian has met and/or exchanged views with global leaders including Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. He is the host of The View from Manila on One News TV Channel, and "With Due Respect" on PRTV]], and also hosts multiple podcasts, including Deep Dive with Richard Heydarian, as well as "Oxford Policy Pod", hosted by the Blavatnik School of Government, and The Bridge, which focuses on ASEAN–Europe ties and is a project supported by the European Parliament. He is also active on social media, including his YouTube channel (Richard Heydarian Deep Dive). He also hosts the "Utak Forum", which he brings together top experts and policy-makers focusing on South China Sea and foreign policy issues. As a cultural figure, he has been featured in lifestyle publications, including in Tatler magazine's "Asia's Most Stylish" issue in 2022.
Early life and education Heydarian was born in Baguio in Benguet. Heydarian father's side is of Persian descent and his mother is Ilocano. Heydarian moved to Metro Manila for higher education, where he took a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Master in International Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He is currently based in Oriel College, and pursuing a master's degree in public policy at the University of Oxford.
Heydarian is a member of Oxford Union. He is also a board member on multiple foundations, including Team Pinas Foundation and We Protect Our Seas (WPS).
He also practices martial arts, and holds a black belt in taekwondo. He has transitioned into mixed martial arts, because "You can never rely on just one area of strength nor can you exclusively lean on past templates. You need to evolve and incorporate new elements into your tool kit." Heydarian has often written critically about his hometown, bemoaning its gradual decline throughout the decades, especially following the post-earthquake reconstruction era. Nevertheless, he has always held Baguio as a potential cite for progressive politics due to its "vibrant local democracy anchored by an energetic middle class and a cosmopolitan culture".
Background
Academia Heydarian began his career in academia, teaching at Ateneo de Manila University and later at De La Salle University in the early 2010s. As a researcher, Heydarian began as a consultant to the German think tank Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Manila office, and was also the editor-in-chief of Socdem Asia, the magazine and publication outlet for the alliance of social democratic and progressive parties in the Indo-Pacific region. He is also a contributor to International Politics and Society magazine, published by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung's Brussels office, and a magazine for social democratic thinkers.
Richard Heydarian has been operating at the interstices of academe, journalism, think tank circles, and activism. He has taught at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Ateneo de Manila University, and De La Salle University. He has also presented lectures and talks at universities such as Harvard University, Stanford University, University of California Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University, Leiden University, and Australian National University. He has also contributed to and given talks at think tanks such as the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and Brookings Institution, and the Lowy Institute. He has been described as among the "most prolific and interviewed geopolitical analyst[s] currently writing and speaking not only in the Philippines but arguably in Southeast Asia as well" by the Stanford University
He previously served as Professorial Chairholder and Associate Professor at Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Heydarian is currently a senior lecturer at the UP Asian Center, where he teaches graduate courses on international affairs in Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific region.
Television and media Heydarian transitioned from teaching to mainstream media, serving as a resident analyst at ABS-CBN News Channel and, a year later, as a resident political analyst and host of Stand for Truth at GMA Network. He has also served as resident analyst/host at ABS-CBN News Channel, GMA Network and One News/TV5.
He is also a television host at One News, where his show, The View From Manila, was nominated for the "Best Current Affairs" program at the Asian Television Awards 2023.
He began his writing career as a regular contributor to The Huffington Post, where he wrote on Asian affairs and domestic Philippine politics. In 2018, he joined the Philippine Daily Inquirer, becoming one of the youngest columnists in the newspaper's history. The same year, he won the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the Year award by the Junior Chamber International for his contributions to public policy discourse and social sciences. He had previously won the Ten Outstanding Young Men award in 2016.
His articles and interviews have appeared on The Atlantic, BBC, Bloomberg, The Economist, The Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, The Guardian, The New York Times, Time, Nikkei Asian Review, South China Morning Post, The Straits Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.
Political views and advocacy A vocal critic of authoritarian populism, Heydarian has faced constant online harassment, death threats, and even legal harassment from supporters of Rodrigo Duterte presidency. In 2019, Heydarian published a blank column on Duterte's "independent foreign policy", a satirical critique of the Filipino leader's pro-China policies amid ongoing tensions in the South China Sea. Shortly after, the country's Land Transportation Office (LTO) called him out for alleged 'reckless driving' and subpoenaed him based on a picture that showed Heydarian with his pet in the driving seat. "The car is obviously parked and I'm clearly in a corner. We were in a stopover when the dog came over. We just thought it was a very cute picture," he said. "The LTO's post is an extension of the [pro-Duterte trolls] line. The [pro-Duterte] propagandists are completely twisting it. The LTO's [Facebook administrator] used the DDS' line," Heydarian said.
In 2025, he faced yet another frivolous charge when a group of Duterte-aligned figures filed an "indirect contempt" petition against him at the Philippine Supreme Court following his online comments on the high court's ruling on the constitutionality of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial. Heydarian's legal team responded by clarifying the context of his public interventions and claimed malicious twisting of his words by politically motivated groups seeking to silence dissent. Aside from accusing the petitioners of weaponizing legal instruments, they also detected serious problems in the petition, including sloppy citation and non-existent jurisprudence. In response, the petitioners were forced to submit an amended version of their petition to the Supreme Court, where they expressed how they "deeply apologiz[e] to [the Supreme Court] … and recogniz[e] with humility" their numerous "lapses." The petitioners also admitted the need to "correct certain jurisprudential citations inadvertently and mistakenly relied upon in the original petition."
Almost a year later, the Philippine Supreme Court affirmed Heydarian's right to express public opinion on the matter in a landmark ruling, which also cleared two other respondents from charges of indirect contempt against the country's highest court. In an 87-page en banc decision promulgated on April 8, 2026 and released in July 2026, the high court dismissed the charges against Heydarian et al. as “nothing more than hollow assertions, which are devoid of factual or legal substance.” According to the Supreme Court: “The petitions do not demonstrate a direct and substantial link between the impugned statements and any actual tendency of inciting the public to, likely and imminently, obstruct, degrade or interfere with the orderly administration of justice.” The ruling penned by Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen made it clear that the “incitement test [for determining whether a speech act was a form of contempt against the Supreme Court must] incite the public to lose trust in the judiciary and the imminence and likelihood of this intended effect must also be established...From the text itself, respondent Heydarian’s statement does not suggest any inciting or rallying to commit lawlessness. There is also no likelihood that it shall produce imminent lawlessness. Clearly, the form, style and nature of respondent Heydarian’s statements are not provocative or direct enough to be a call to commit crimes or to disregard the laws.”
Heydarian's political activism and role as a public intellectual grew out of his early exposure to social democratic ideals and organizations, particularly his work at The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, which shaped his views on economics, politics and foreign policy. Against the backdrop of global uncertainty and rise of alt-right populism, he considers himself as a "progressive realist", who appreciates the need for proactive social mobilization, coalition-building with likeminded forces, robust social safety nets combined with more centrist social policies, as well as deterrence and balance of power in matters of geopolitics. He is also a major proponent of a more proactive and autonomous Philippine foreign policy as well as a greater role for Global South nations and cooperation among likeminded post-colonial nations. Accordingly, he prefers middle powers such as the Philippines to resist any undue pressure and unilateralism by any superpower, including the incoming Trump 2.0 administration. He is, however, an advocate of 'minilateralism', and has dubbed the term, "JAPHUS", referring to the Japan-Philippine-US trilateral alliance.