All posts by Pavin Chachavalpongpun

Pavin Chachavalpongpun is associate professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. Since the coup of 2014 in Thailand, Pavin was summoned twice for his criticial views of the monarchy and the military. He rejected the summons. As a result, the Thai junta issued a warrant for his arrest and revoked his passport, forcing him to apply for a refugee with Japan.

Student protests Bangkok Royalist Marketplace

Thai Royalists Must Change Tactics in Dealing with Free Speech

After printing "I'm losing faith in the monarchy" on a tee shirt, a critic of the monarchy was locked in a mental asylum. Not surprisingly, it did little to reassure Thais that authorities were acting in their best interests.

/ July 24, 2020

Thailand is caught in the Sino-US rivalry that has shaped a new world order

Thailand's current Prayuth government may like to think that Thailand could play a balancing game between the United States and China. But the Thai domestic problems have compromised its position.

/ July 9, 2020
King Vajiralongkorn change in the use of lèse-majesté law

A Softer Approach From Thailand’s Sophisticated Monarch

From the judges and the police, to the army and officials in the ICT, they all serve as defenders of the monarchy, thus making the Computer Crime Act as effective as the lèse-majesté law in purging dissent from Thai society.

/ June 6, 2020

The Trouble of the Palm Oil Business in Southeast Asia

With name-calling and scapegoating over the polluted haze, governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore engage in a rhetorical exercise. In reality, all parties are skating around the real issues.

/ May 21, 2020

The Royalists Marketplace: The Supply and Demand for Dissent in Thailand

The Royalists Marketplace elevates political criticism, bringing it from underground to a screen, from gossip and rumour to open debate.

/ May 4, 2020
Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangruangruangkit FORSEA

What Will Thailand Look Like in 2020?

Vajiralongkorn is an ambitious king, he has also become increasingly politically savvy. But he is not alone in the world of ambitious leaders. New leaders, like Thanathorn, are equally ambitious. 2020 could be the year when the two collide.

/ January 11, 2020
Visual Documentary Project FORSEA CSEAS 2019

A Film Unseen in Thailand

On 12 December 2019, up-and-coming Thai film producer, Thunska Pansittivorakul, thrilled his audiences at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, by showing one of his latest films – Screaming Goats – a film never to be screened in his home country, Thailand.

/ December 13, 2019
Thailand-Military-Junta-FORSEA

ต่างชาติเมินกดดันรัฐบาลทหารไทย

Almost two months after the Thai elections, no government has been formed. Clearly the junta is clinging to power. Meanwhile, the West allows this to happen as it cares little about democracy in Thailand.

/ May 23, 2019
Thai-Coronation-FORSEA-Pavin-Chachavalpongpun

The NEW REIGN of DIVISION HAS BEGUN in THAILAND

Royal absolutism is likely to pick up speed following the coronation. The possibility of consensus-making will diminish the more absolutism grows, and so too will the likelihood of political conflict.

/ May 8, 2019
Thailand's-Elections-2019-FORSEA-Pavin

THAI ELECTIONS 2019

Military uniforms are out, the civilian look is in. Window dressing aside: The five-year military rule has done nothing but deepen the militarisation of the Thai political landscape.

/ March 24, 2019