As long-time readers know, we at PPT sometimes draw attention to works on Thailand by academics. In recent days there have been a few worthy of attention, each published in an easily accessible form:
The first is a New Mandala piece by Jim Taylor: “The perplexing case of Wat Dhammakaya.”
Taylor made a name for himself in the 1980s and 1990s writing on this group, so this piece is worth a read as the military regime and the monarchy try to bring it down.
Then there are a set of articles at the Kyoto Review of Southeast Asian Studies. The papers of Thailand interest in an issue on “Political Assassinations in Southeast Asia” are:
- Prajak Kongkirati: Murder without Progress in Siam: From Hired Gunmen to Men in Uniform
- Nuttakorn Vititanon: Assassination in Thai Local Politics: A Decade of Decentralisation (2000-2009)
- Peera Charoenvattananukul: Rethinking Approaches to the Study of Thai Foreign Policy Behaviours
The issue includes articles on political violence in other parts of Southeast Asia.
Political Prisoners in Thailand 