(Mis)Reading Thai Politics through a Great Power Lens
THAILAND STUDIES PROGRAMME
About the Webinar
Are politically progressive Thais more likely to be pro-US, and more politically conservative Thais likely to favor China? This webinar will explore the extent to which domestic political developments in Thailand can be interpreted through the lens of US–China great power competition. By integrating insights from international relations and critical geopolitics literature, along with a public opinion survey that explores the underlying political views and attitudes of Thai respondents, this webinar examines the relationship between domestic political leanings and support for either the US or China. In doing so, it will also consider whether viewing election outcomes in Thailand as “wins” for one great power or the other is valid, or if such interpretations are fundamentally misleading.
About the Speakers
Dr Petra Alderman is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Leadership for Inclusive and Democratic Politics at the University of Birmingham and a Research Fellow of the Birmingham’s Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability & Representation (CEDAR). She works in the areas of democracy, authoritarianism, elections, and promotional politics. Her geographical area of interest is Southeast Asia, and she has a notable country knowledge of Thailand. She is the author of Branding Authoritarian Nations: Political Legitimation and Strategic National Myths in Military-Ruled Thailand (Routledge, 2023).
Dr Duncan McCargo is President’s Chair in Global Affairs at Nanyang Technological University and Associate Senior Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. His books on Thai politics include the best-selling The Thaksinization of Thailand (co-authored, NIAS 2005), the award-winning Tearing Apart the Land: Islam and Legitimacy in Southern Thailand (Cornell 2008), and most recently Future Forward: The Rise and Fall of a Thai Political Party (co-authored, NIAS 2020). Duncan edits the Talking Thai Politics podcast on New Books Network. Website: thaipolitics.leeds.ac.uk
Registration
This webinar will be delivered online entirely. To join us, please register here to receive your unique link.
Please note that each registration is good for only one login at any one time during the event.