Showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thailand needs a geostrategic rebalance
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/06/2025
» With two military coups and multiple judicial interventions that combined to subvert election results and weaken democratic institutions over the past two decades, it is unsurprising that Thailand's geostrategic position has leaned increasingly towards China. Naturally, the more Thailand becomes autocratic, the more it will be estranged from established democracies in Europe and North America, as well as Japan and South Korea, with nowhere to turn but to Beijing. But this China orientation is a geostrategic mistake at this time. Thailand should correct its course until clearer signs emerge as to which side of the superpower struggle will come out on top.
Remembering a Southeast Asianist
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 26/07/2024
» It is not often these days to find scholars of Southeast Asia with exceptional breadth and depth, prescience, and commitment who stick to their creed until the end. In the pantheon of such rare scholars, Benedict O'Gorman Anderson, who died in 2015, would have led the way. James C Scott would be right beside him in a distinctly different fashion.