Thailand

Thailand

Looking at Asia through the lens of disability

The 22nd Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) brought together a group of scholars from around Australia and the region with a shared interest in disability in Asia. Asian studies conferences are not a usual venue for the meeting of scholars of disability, but the 2018 ASAA conference provided a unique …

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No obituary yet: Thai democracy and the 1932 revolution

A modest plaque has disappeared from the pavement at the Royal Plaza in Thailand. Arjun Subrahmanyan considers the wider significance of its removal The recent disappearance of a plaque commemorating the 1932 revolution in Siam shows the suspicion over popular sovereignty that still prevails in the country. The event, staged by a group of commoners …

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A peaceful New Year’s gift on the Cambodia–Thailand border

A small gesture holds a glimmer of hope for a more lasting peace on a troubled border, reports Marnie Feneley On a recent field trip shooting panoramic photographs at Banteay Chhmar, a temple in northern Cambodia, we decided to take a detour further north to see a temple known as Ta Muen Thom. This temple, …

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The real meaning of Thailand’s constitutional referendum

If history is a guide, Thailand’s latest constitution will be shortlived Many observers of Thailand’s ongoing debilitating political crisis have been scratching their heads trying to understand how Thai voters approved a draft constitution in the referendum on 7 August 2016 which is so blatantly designed to entrench military rule. The result of the referendum …

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Finding the grains of truth in Thailand’s spoiled-rice scandal

Thailand’s simmering politics could be about to become even hotter as former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra faces her accusers over a scheme to provide cheap rice to poor farmers There has long been something special among Thais about rice and female spirits, an essential nurturing attribute important to sustain the essence of life (khwan). Every …

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