Thai military releases aerial evidence of Cambodian military buildup before border clash The images show that, for over 70 years, neither side had settled or actively used the disputed area — contradicting Cambodian claims of long-standing occupation.

"Withai said these trench constructions ...constitute a violation of the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Thailand and Cambodia. The MOU states that undemarcated areas must be jointly used for patrols, without altering the landscape www.nationthailand.com/news/general...

Agree Rex.

Crime networks persist on the Thai–Myanmar border The Thai–Myanmar border is the home of a multi-billion-dollar transnational crime empire that thrives on state complicity.

In this piece I look at recent Thai-China activity following the kidnapping of a Chinese celebrity on the Thai-Myanmar border. The measures are unlikely to arrest the growth of the scam centres. @anubellschool.bsky.social
eastasiaforum.org/2025/05/22/c...

Beijing Wants to Erase Tibet’s Name. Don’t Let Them. | Journal of Democracy The Chinese Communist Party is attempting to rename the Tibetan people’s homeland, part of a wider effort to eradicate Tibet’s cultural identity. For Tibet, it’s more than just a name.

www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclu...

The US has never interfered more brazenly and directly in E Europe’s politics than it’s doing now. All the CIA-sponsored ops from the Cold War era are peanuts by comparison—and they were more or less covert or had a front!

Cobra Gold over four decades: hedging, alliances and a United States–Thailand multilateral military exercise This article investigates two research questions: firstly, whether small state hedging can be compatible with alliances, and secondly, what Thailand’s troubled alliance with the United States porte...

In this new article I investigate two research questions: firstly, whether small state hedging can be compatible with alliances, and secondly, what Thailand’s troubled alliance with the United States portends for regional order. @anubellschool.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/eprint/VAYEW...

What Is a Moral Foreign Policy? - Texas National Security Review How should we judge the morality of a president's foreign policy? Joseph Nye suggests a rubric that is based on a three-dimensional ethics of intentions, means, and consequences and that draws from re...

Joseph Nye - always worth reading. RIP. tnsr.org/2019/11/what...

".....we should be ruthless toward oppressive systems and compassionate toward actual people.” Nice.

สังคมแบบใดเปิดทางให้ 'ทุนจีนสีเทา' ? เครือข่ายอำนาจจีน-ไทย ระบบอุปถัมภ์ และอาชญากรรมในคราบความร่วมมือ สังคมแบบใดเปิดทางให้ ‘ทุนจีนสีเทา’ ? วันโอวันสรุปงานวิจัย Explaining ‘Grey Capital’ โดย Gregory V. Raymond ชวนทำความเข้าใจว่าทุนจีนสีเทาทำงานอย่างไร ภายใต้ระบบอุปถัมภ์ที่แน่นแฟ้นระหว่างเจ้าหน้าที่รัฐก...

Thanks to Natcha Sinkiri ณัชชา สินคีรี and 101 world for translating my article 'Explaining Grey Capital' into Thai. 🙏🙏

www.the101.world/grey-capital...

Thanks!🙏.To your question: in competitive authoritarian systems, there will occasionally be democracy movements that can be popular and yet powerless, and the ASC will help things stay that way.

Making Mainland Southeast Asia safe for autocracy - New Mandala How regional elites built an “authoritarian security community”

aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

This is a relief, but only temporary. The charges have not been dropped, so the possibility of up to 15 years in jail still remains. I'm hoping the fact that Paul Chambers did not write the offending text will be enough to get the charges thrown out.

Trump white-ants US democracy and opens a values gap with allies The Trump administration is battering and bruising US democracy, proving that even the Land of the Free is susceptible to an authoritarian turn.

Excellent piece from @liamgammon.bsky.social contemplating an historically unprecedented event - the fall of a rich established democracy into outright authoritarianism. eastasiaforum.org/2025/04/06/t...

Terrible news.

Thai arrest warrant issued for US academic under ban on insulting royalty Paul Chambers, a university lecturer, to face police interview on Tuesday under lese-majeste and computer crime laws.

Distressing news. Timing is interesting coming after the US tariffs. Certainly a sign of SE Asia's growing disinterest in freedom of expression. Key takeaway for Thai studies scholars- English is no longer a protection. Thoughts with Paul. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Some First Nations people from northern Australia also use the term.

Couldn't help but check if Thailand was a member of the International Criminal Court....unfortunately, no, we won't be seeing MAL bundled onto a plane to the Hague a la another mass murderer.

I sincerely believe that the current administration is not stupid about tariffs, and that they know exactly how chaotic this will be. They also understand that this allows them to dispense extremely valuable favors to businesses--in the U.S. and globally--who will really need them.

😆

Thailand sold electricity produced by Laos hydrogen...back to Laos at a higher price. #ingoodcompany

Thanks Mark

An authoritarian security community in mainland Southeast Asia: regional dynamics in an actor-centred theory of transnational authoritarianism This article presents a novel actor-centred theory of transnational authoritarianism that puts the nexus between security and authoritarianism at the heart of its explanation of how and why neighbo...

What role do transnational factors play in the decline of democracy in mainland Southeast Asia? Here I argue that its wrong to look only at China. Instead, we should note that Mekong states and their security forces put regime security ahead of traditional concerns. Article is free to download.

Entering a dark age.

Rule OF law well on the way to becoming rule BY law.

Authoritarian Securitisation and Moral Panic: The Discourse and Role of the Senate in the 2023 Thai Election - Gregory V. Raymond, 2025 In Thailand's 2023 election, an appointed Senate controlled who became prime minister. To better understand the thinking of key actors in this critical moment, ...

NEW ARTICLE: Surreal to be worrying about SE Asian authoritarianism currently.

But it should be understood on its own terms.

Open access and part of a forthcoming SI edited by Aim Sinpeng and I on Thailand's 2023 election.

@anubellschool.bsky.social

dx.doi.org/10.1177/1868...

Thailand's ongoing struggle for democratic stability Thai politics continues to be a fierce battle for power and control, with the monarchy and military firmly opposed to any attempts to deliver genuine democracy.

My review of Thai politics in 2024 and prospects for 2025. @anubellschool.bsky.social eastasiaforum.org/2025/02/11/t...

Much coverage of new agreements between Thailand China re:cracking down on scam centres of eastern Myanmar.

Meanwhile, Thai MP Rome says BGF commander and Shwe Koko kingpin Saw Chit Thu has bribed Thai officials who would be exposed were he arrested.

The second characteristic is the unimportance of facts or reality. Trump and the MAGA movement exhibit both these key characteristics.

Hannah Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism" describes two key characteristics of the Nazi movement. The first is the willingness of followers to support policies that are not in their own interest, economically or otherwise, such is the intensity of their desire to belong to the movement. 1/

No, no, no