Thailand’s 2023 Perfect Storm: Political Instability and an Uncertain Future

Course Dates:

Friday, September 8, 2023

Time:

10-11:30 AM

Location:

Payap Lifelong Learning Center

About speaker:

Paul Chambers, who completed a Ph.D. in Political Science at Northern Illinois University in 2003, currently serves as Lecturer and Advisor for International Affairs at the College of ASEAN Community Studies, Naresuan University, Thailand. He is also Research Fellow at both the German Institute of Global Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg, Germany, as well as the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) in Frankfurt, Germany. His research focuses upon civil-military relations, security sector reform and democratization in Southeast Asia.

Thailand’s 2023 Perfect Storm: Political Instability and an Uncertain Future

Abstract: Following a May 2023 election which saw progressive party Move Forward (MF) achieve a stunning victory, Thailand’s parliament did not offer enough votes for MF’s prime ministerial candidate Pita to take office.

Amidst, anti-government demonstrations, Thaksin Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai party, General Prawit Wongsuwan’s Palang Pracharat party and other pro-royalist parties appeared near to cobbling together a governing coalition.

Meanwhile, caretaker Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha put together the 2023 military reshuffle list. In September 2023, no matter who became Prime Minister, it appeared as though popular dissatisfaction would spill out into the streets.

For the future, it remains unclear to what extent the judiciary and/or military will intervene to “reorder” Thailand’s political situation. This presentation addresses this issue.

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