Bangkok May 2010: Perspectives on a Divided Thailand

by Institute of Southeast Asian Studies-ISEAS

Edited by Michael J. Montesano, Pavin Chachavalpongpun, and Aekapol Chongvilaivan

After a two‐month stand‐off between Red Shirt protestors and the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, violence and arson scarred central Bangkok in mid‐May 2010. This shocking turn of events underlined how poorly understood the deep divisions in the society and politics of Thailand remained, even five years into the country’s prolonged crisis. This volume collects analysis and commentary on those divisions from an unusually large and prominent group of Thai and foreign scholars and observers of the country. Contributions examine socio‐economic, political, diplomatic, historical, cultural, and ideological issues with rare frankness, clarity, and lack of jargon.

About the Editors

Aekapol Chongvilaivan received his PhD from National University of Singapore. His researches include Impacts of International Outsourcing on Industries Productivity and Labor Markets in Asian Countries, and Regional Economic Integration and International Financial Market Liberalization in Southeast Asian Countries.

Michael J. Montesano is assistant professor in Southeast Asian Studies Programme at National University of Singapore. As a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Dr Montesano is also a historian whose research project includes social and economic change in provincial Thailand during the past half‐century.

Pavin Chachavalpongpun is a Singapore‐based Thai academic, independent writer, and a Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. He received his PhD in Political Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Pavin is the author of forthcoming book The Necessity of Enemies in Thailand’s Troubled Politics: The Making of Political Otherness.

About the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies

The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) was established as an autonomous organization in 1968. It is a regional centre dedicated to the study of socio‐political, security and economic trends and developments in Southeast Asia and its wider geostrategic and economic environment. The Institute’s research programmes are the Regional Economic Studies (RES, including ASEAN and APEC), Regional Strategic and Political Studies (RSPS), and Regional Social and Cultural Studies (RSCS).

About ISEAS Publishing

ISEAS Publishing, an established academic press, has issued more than 2,000 books and journals. It is the largest scholarly publisher of research about Southeast Asia from within the region. ISEAS Publishing works with many other academic and trade publishers and distributors to disseminate important research and analyses from and about Southeast Asia to the rest of the world.

Highlights

A thorough and in‐depth analysis of the roots and ideology of the red‐shirt protesters who occupied the streets of Bangkok in April–May 2010
Chapters cover a wide range of prominent factors that caused and resulted from the movement: from the history of the protest to diplomatic relations and Thailand’s cultural issues
Compiled from a large mix of both Thai and international scholars and observers
Discusses Thailand’s relationship with democracy and the historical background of the country’s current social issues