Thailand’s Cause Lawyers and Twenty-First-Century Military Coups: Nation, Identity, and Conflicting Visions of the Rule of Law (original) (raw)
Related papers
2009
, who persuaded me to join him in Thailand nearly ten years ago for a small joint project, which eventually grew into a much larger one of my own. I am especially indebted to the generous and patient Thai lawyers and others who consented to be interviewed for this study. For valuable advice and assistance I owe particular thanks to Pipob Udomittipong, Somchai Homla-or, Thawinadee Bureekul, and Professor Paisit Panitchkul, as well as the entire faculty of law of Chiangmai University who welcomed me and generously offered advice about many aspects of the project. My Thai research assistants have been invaluable, Duran Wongsa in Chiangmai, Worranwan Kalyanamitra and Suriwan Lapsomboornanon in Bangkok, and Nuanchan Singkran and Poonrit Kuakul at Cornell University and later in Bangkok. At New York Law School, my assistants have contributed valuable research, helpful insights, and camaraderie. They include research assistants Cory Blitz,
Under and beyond the Law: Monarchy, Violence, and History in Thailand
Politics & Society, 2021
Since the end of the absolute monarchy in Thailand on June 24, 1932, the rulers and the ruled have been locked into struggle, often violent, over what form the polity and the people's participation in it should take. This essay examines this struggle, the imagination of justice, and the inability to consolidate democracy, or even a stable government, through the lens of the monarchy, which has remained beyond accountability. Violence committed to preserve the monarchy forecloses democracy and fosters a form of what can be called modern absolutist monarchy, when some lives are visibly placed beyond the law's protection from violence and others are made dispensable by being made subject to repressive enforcement of the law. The emergence in 2020 of a daring challenge to the position of the monarchy beyond the law refracts both the dangers it poses to democracy and the urgency of imagining a new Thai polity.
Thailand four years after the coup: The struggle against the dissenters
After the 2006 coup d'état, there were many unusual incidents in Thailand, some of which involved considerable bloodshed, which originated from clashes between those in power and dissenters. This article examines how political institutions in Thailand are structured, and the author argues that, in order to effectively assess the state of Thai politics after the coup, an analysis of the structures of political legitimacy in the country is essential. The author will be exploring the way in which political legitimacy is generally determined by the established power holders, especially the monarchy and its allies. The ideologies and beliefs of recent dissenters will also be examined in detail.
2007
This essay is a revised version of a talk prepared to reflect the theme of New York Law School's 2006 Faculty Presentation Day-celebrating 50 years of the New York Law School Law Review-by taking Sally Engle Merry's essay, published in the Law Review in 1992, as its starting point. This essay was intended primarily for a student audience and conceived as an introduction to a profound and important area of research to which Professor Merry has major important contributions. She is among the best-known American law and society scholars, has made numerous major contributions to legal anthropology, and is especially well known for her scholarship on the relationship between "legal consciousness" and access to rights. As the author explains in his essay, he believes that Professor Merry's latest work on the globalization of a human rights convention on violence against women can be equally instructive for him and other scholars, as well as for students and their scholarship to come. The author thanks Cory Blitz for his valuable assistance in conducting research for this article.
The Land of Forced Smiles: Military Rule in Thailand and its Discontents
2016
ince the military coup of 2014, Thais have been living under one of their most repressive regimes in decades. Various junta appointed bodies are currently working in accordance with a 'roadmap' they claim will restore democracy to the country -but what kind of democracy remains to be seen. This discussion paper places the recent coup in a historical context, arguing that it was a way for traditional elites to gain the upper hand in a decades-long struggle against elected politicians. With this in mind, it seems clear that the 'roadmap' and any constitution drafting overseen by the junta and their allies will actually be a way to reduce the power of elected politicians to the detriment of Thai democracy. The paper then turns its attention to those who opposed the coup, asking to what extent opposition to the junta has been possible in Thailand and what conditions might lead to a mass mobilisation against it.
Thai Legal Studies: An Editorial for the Inaugural Issue
Thai Legal Studies, 2021
Thai legal studies present a growing field of study in English-language academic literature. Academic work by Thai scholars and international scholars who work on Thailand is now appearing in many places, and several books have appeared in recent times. 1 This field has now reached a level of activity and maturity that merits an academic journal in English. The so-called "pivot to Asia" has embraced work on China and India. Both of these countries have specialised academic journals in English devoted to their law and legal development, and we believe Southeast Asia is the next focus for comparative work. It is also significant that Thai law contains both civil law and common law components, and is increasingly eclectic in its models for law reform. We believe the pages of this journal will bear out this assertion. Moreover, as a middle-income developing country, Thailand provides a model for law and development and for regional integration. Thailand is also a major Southeast Asian economy and a centre of gravity of ASEAN, possessing a legal system growing rapidly in scope and sophistication. For example, legislation recently has been passed to rationalise and improve the law-making process, 2 and Thailand is also experimenting with the trust, a common law device. 3 Thailand's growing connections and relations with the international community ensure a wide audience for our new journal, as the development of law in Thailand is open to international and regional influences. This is being reflected in academic research as well as other areas, such as judicial and legal professional training programmes.