Thailand

Thailand’s overcrowded prisons hit by Covid-19 surge
Thailand’s overcrowded prisons hit by Covid-19 surge
Thailand emerged from the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the best performing countries in the world in terms of minimising cases and deaths. But 2021 has been a…
Thailand’s sweeping associations law courts disaster
Thailand’s sweeping associations law courts disaster
For decades, Thailand has served as the primary regional hub for UN agencies and programs, international humanitarian organisations and advocacy groups. In comparison to their…
A reckoning for Thailand’s indigenous defence industry
A reckoning for Thailand’s indigenous defence industry
Since the 1960s, Thailand has aimed to transition away from an import-based defence procurement model towards a resilient, indigenous defence industrial base. Only in the recent…
Thailand: Military, monarchy and the masses
Thailand: Military, monarchy and the masses
At the heart of Thai street protests is the country’s inability to agree how power should be gained and used. What we are witnessing is a break from the past. The new king is more…
Progressive politics in Thailand’s polarised polity
Progressive politics in Thailand’s polarised polity
Book review: Duncan McCargo and Anyarat Chattharakul Future Forward: The rise and fall of a Thai political party (NIAS Press, 2020) Youth-led protests in Thailand in …
Rising protests and a sinking economy spell trouble in Thailand
Rising protests and a sinking economy spell trouble in Thailand
As Thailand’s youth continue to protest against the country’s establishment, the government faces double trouble, with an economy in freefall. At the heart of the protests are…
Chinese dams and the Mekong drought
Chinese dams and the Mekong drought
The latest reports from the Lower Mekong Basin are cause for growing concern that another period of drought will succeed that of 2019, affecting Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and…
What’s the secret to Southeast Asia’s Covid success stories?
What’s the secret to Southeast Asia’s Covid success stories?
After almost seven months, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to challenge the world, but some places seem to have managed surprisingly well. Thailand has not reported any local…
Book review: The memory of a massacre in Thailand
Book review: The memory of a massacre in Thailand
Book review: Thongchai Winichakul, Moments of Silence: The Unforgetting of the October 6, 1976, Massacre in Bangkok (University of Hawaii Press, 2020) In the early…
Southeast Asian democracies in declining health amid Covid-19
Southeast Asian democracies in declining health amid Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting democracies in the Asia-Pacific region in ways that demand Australian attention. The ability to weather a crisis of this magnitude depends…