Talking Thai Politics

Jan 27 2025 8 ep. 30 mins 24
Talking Thai Politics Podcast artwork

Talking Thai Politics brings conversations about the politics of Thailand to a global audience. Created by the Generation Thailand project at Nanyang Technological University, the podcast is co-hosted by Duncan McCargo and Chayata Sripanich. Our production assistant is Li Xinruo.

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Talking Thai Politics: Chanintorn Pensute, The Cost of Politics in Thailand

Jan 27 2025 31 mins  
How much does it cost to become an MP in Thailand? Is entering parliamentary politics prohibitively expensive for ordinary people? Has the rise of the Move Forward Party (now the People’s Party) changed the landscape as regards candidate selection and campaign finance? Or do well-connected members of local political dynasties still exert a dominant role in determining who enters

Talking Thai Politics: Pornchai Witayalerdpan – What’s Up with the Thai Senate?

Dec 06 2024 31 mins  
How exactly were Thailand’s new slate of 200 Senators selected? What is it like to be an independent member of the Senate, when the chamber is now dominated by members closely associated with one of the government parties? Now that the Thai senate plays no role in selecting the prime minister, is it anything more than a talking-shop? What is the atmosphere like inside Thailand’

Talking Thai Politics: Why Thai Politics isn’t All About China

Nov 22 2024 30 mins  
How far does geopolitics relate to domestic political leanings? Are politically progressive Thais more likely to be pro-US, and more politically conservative Thais likely to favour China? A recent article by Petra Alderman, Duncan McCargo, Alfred Gerstl and James Icovocci drawing on a 2022 survey finds some relationship between liberal domestic political leanings and sympathy for t

Talking Thai Politics: Tak Bai and Beyond, Thailand’s Southern Insurgency

Nov 08 2024 26 mins  
In the wake of the twentieth anniversary of the dreadful Tak Bai massacre, what are the prospects for a resolution of the long-standing insurgency in Thailand Malay-Muslim majority southern border provinces? Why has the Paetongtarn Shinawatra government failed to support justice for the families of the 85 men who died in the incident? Why do absurd conspiracy theories often loom la

Talking Thai Politics: Prajak Kongkirati, Thailand: Contestation, Polarization and Democratic Regression (Cambridge 2024)

Oct 28 2024 25 mins  
Why has Thailand’s politics been so contested and so intensely polarized in recent decades? How can we account for the persistent democratic regression of the past twenty years, despite the fact that the parallel vigour of progressive oppositional politics remains a source of hope for many? In this episode of Talking Thai Politics, prominent Thai political scientist Prajak Kongki

Talking Thai Politics: Kunthika Nutcharut, Defending Disruptors

Oct 11 2024 31 mins  
What is it like to be a human rights lawyer in Thailand? How does the new generation of 2020s political activists differ from those of previous eras? In this episode of Talking Thai Politics, we talk to Kunthika Nutcharut about her work with Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. Kunthika comes from a political family – her lawyer father Krisadang Nutcharut was a student activisit in the

Mark Tamthai: Remembering Chaiwat Satha-Anand

Sep 27 2024 33 mins  
Why was the late Ajarn Chaiwat Satha-Anand so passionate about bringing peace to Thailand’s deep south? How did he try to speak nonviolence to Thai power elites? In this episode of Talking Thai Politics, Ajarn Mark Tamthai of Payap University talks about his memories of working with Chaiwat, especially their efforts to end the ongoing violent conflict in the Malay-Muslim-majority

Talking Thai Politics: Pannika Wanich, Progressive Activist

Sep 12 2024 28 mins  
In this inaugural episode of Talking Thai Politics, Pannika Wanich of the Progressive Movement talks about generational contestation in Thailand, as well the evolution of Future Forward, Move Forward and the newly-formed People’s Party. A former political journalist and LSE graduate, 36-year old Pannika served as the spokesperson of the now-dissolved Future Forward Party; but was