Thailand has been in a deep political crisis since the royalist-military coup against the Thaksin government in 2006. A second coup, in 2014, ushered in a hard-line military dictatorship. The passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016 and accession to the throne of his son and heir, King Vajiralongkorn, has further transformed Thailand’s political landscape. ... Show More
Nov 20
Ivan Franceschini et al., "Scam: Inside Southeast Asia's Cybercrime Compounds" (Verso Books, 2025)
“If I had been enslaved for a year or two, I might not be able to believe in humanity any more.” “I am a victim of modern slavery.”
These chilling words come from a Taiwanese female lured by a fake job offer, only to be sold into a scam compound in Cambodia. She is not alone. Sh ... Show More
50m 32s
Nov 14
Sonia Faleiro, "The Robe and the Sword: How Buddhist Extremism Is Shaping Modern Asia" (Columbia UP, 2025)
When the robe becomes a weapon, who can stop the violence? We think of Buddhism as a faith of peace—rooted in compassion, patience, and nonviolence. But across South and Southeast Asia today, the robe is being turned into a weapon, as radical monks and nationalist movements unlea ... Show More
41m 40s
Nov 1
Stephen Huard, "Calibrated Engagement: Chronicles of Local Politics in the Heartland of Myanmar" (Berghahn Books, 2024)
This episode of New Books in Southeast Asian Studies features Stéphen Huard talking about Calibrated Engagement: Chronicles of Local Politics in the Heartland of Myanmar (Berghahn Books, 2024), in which he takes a deep dive into the history and anthropology of village leadershi ... Show More
52m 3s
Aug 2023
What's next for Thailand after its latest political changes?
Thaksin Shinawatra returns home... Thailand’s former leader, back from exile, was immediately detained. He supports the new government - which is backed by the military that ousted him. The winners of the election are out in the cold. So, what's next for Thailand? And how will it ... Show More
25m 58s
May 2020
Wasana Wongsurawat, "The Crown and the Capitalists: The Ethnic Chinese and the Founding of the Thai Nation" (U Washington Press, 2019)
One can’t understand modern Thailand without understanding the role of the ethnic Chinese. And one can’t understand the role of the ethnic Chinese without understanding the history of their relationship to the Thai monarchy. This is exactly what Wasana Wongsurawat has documented ... Show More
53m 2s
Nov 2018
Political Parties - A Tale of Two Parties | 1
<p>In the earliest days of the United States, there was no such thing as an organized political party. George Washington, elected twice to the presidency unanimously in the Electoral College, warned the new nation against political factions, writing that organized parties would b ... Show More
45m 13s
Jul 2021
Max Skjönsberg, "The Persistence of Party: Ideas of Harmonious Discord in Eighteenth-Century Britain" (Cambridge UP, 2021)
Political parties are taken for granted today, but how was the idea of party viewed in the eighteenth century, when core components of modern, representative politics were trialled? From Bolingbroke to Burke, political thinkers regarded party as a fundamental concept of politics, ... Show More
1h 27m
Sep 2020
Encore: Political Parties | A Tale of Two Parties | 1
<p>In the earliest days of the United States, there was no such thing as an organized political party. George Washington, elected twice to the presidency unanimously in the Electoral College, warned the new nation against political factions, writing that organized parties would b ... Show More
45m 51s