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Thailand

Thailand’s new left-wing political parties: rivals or allies?

"The advent of the Commoners’ Party represents a more exciting, radical break with the status quo [than the Future Forward Party]—one that has so far kept class privilege of the likes of Juangroongruangkit intact," writes Kriangsak Teerakowitkajorn.

Thai political rap before it went viral

The young rappers who shot to national attention when they released Prathet Ku Mi honed their skills in a vibrant Thai indie rap scene that has been growing bigger in recent years—and growing more political, too.

Making Thailand’s southern peace dialogue meaningful

Prayut has told media that the peace dialogue is “not about negotiation”.

Thailand’s Rap Against Dictatorship

“Prathet ku mi” has reopened the most sensitive wound of Thailand’s past for a new generation.

Lost in literature: the political and religious consequences of Suvarnabhumi [Part II]

On nationalism, religion, archaeology, folklore and pseudo-history.

Lost in literature: why we need to stop the quest for Suvarnabhumi [Part 1]

The idea of finding the El Dorado of Asia is a continuing obsession.

VIDEO: Researching ‘rupture’

Videos of the Crawford School's 'Rupture' workshop

Introducing ‘Rupture: nature–society transformation in mainland Southeast Asia’

Studying structural reconfigurations of nature and society in the Mekong region and beyond.

Thailand Unsettled #1: The Military (with Puangthong Pawakapan)

In the first episode of Thailand Unsettled, Puangthong Pawakapan tackles the theme of "the military", narrowing in on the Internal Security Operations Command

[AUDIO] Whither academic freedom in Thailand?

A discussion on the state of academic freedom in Thailand, and what Australian scholars can do to show solidarity with Thai colleagues.

Whither academic freedom in Thailand?

Craig Reynolds overviews the contingent, context-dependent nature of academic freedom in Thailand.

Thailand’s sangha: turning right, coming full circle

Thailand’s military government has passed an amendment to the Sangha Act that places the power to appoint and remove the twenty members of the Sangha Council, the highest governing body in the Thai Buddhist order, under the king’s power.

Nation-religion-king: keywords in Thailand’s Royal Institute Dictionaries

While governments since at least Rama VI have defined Thainess by the ideology of nation-religion-king, comparing editions of the Royal Institute Dictionaries shows the changing meanings of these words.

50 shades of yellow: how conservatism overwhelmed liberalism in the anti-Thaksin movement

How did royalist, nationalist and anti-democratic forces overwhelm the originally heterogenous yellow-shirt movement?

Wielding the purse strings of Southeast Asian civil society

Illiberalism at home, and pro-market ideologies abroad, are putting pressure on Southeast Asian civil society organisations' financial health.

Flexibility, but not security, in Thailand’s platform economies

เศรษฐกิจแพลตฟอร์มจากมุมมองของแรงงานในประเทศไทย Platforms such as Uber and Airbnb entice labourers into job insecurities that may not be perceptible in the short term.

Myth and politics in Thailand’s cave rescue operation

As the rescue operation takes on unprecedented proportions, stories of true heroism are assuming Buddhist undertones.

Has Rama X revived Thailand’s death penalty?

There are strong indications that Teerasak Longji submitted a petition for royal clemency. But unlike those condemned before him, his plea for clemency was rejected by His Majesty the King.

Sceptres of instability: why spirit mediums haunt Thailand’s junta  

Why are new forms of spirit mediums proliferating under the NCPO's rule? การกลับมาของร่างทรงในยุคขาลงของรัฐบาลทหาร 4.0 สะท้อนความไม่มั่นคงในชีวิตของคนไทย

What’s behind the “purging” of the Thai sangha?

The reasons behind several recent demotions and arrests of high-ranking Bangkok monks are more politically conniving than simply an attempt to “purify" the sangha.

Four years of the NCPO, four years of creative resistance—part two

Part two of Anon Chawalawan's compilation of the activist inventiveness that has survived the NCPO's four-year rule.

Marrying the Thai monarchy and modernity

While the royal wedding in the United Kingdom was partly extolled in Thailand as a symbol of the British monarchy's adaptability, the royalists’ perception of the Harry-Meghan wedding reflected a desire for their own monarch to be more absolute.