Thailand’s National Elections and their Implications for Democracy—Views from Thailand and Southeast Asia

Panel Discussion:

Thailand’s National Elections and their Implications for Democracy—Views from Thailand and Southeast Asia

Tuesday, February 18, 7 pm

Ballantine Hall, Room 016

National elections in Thailand have become political processes that move outside the ballot box into a wide range of political and legal forums, including boycotts, street demonstrations and violence, and a politically powerful Constitutional Court that, in a 2008 "judicial coup," challenged two governments and outlawed Thailand's ruling party.

Prior to the national elections on February 2, protestors filled the streets of Bangkok. Thailand's Democrat Party boycotted the elections and is now petitioning the Constitutional Court to annul them. What are the implications for democracy, particularly in Thailand and Southeast Asia, of displacement of the ballot box's electoral power into the processes of protest, resistance, and courts?

Panel:

Professor Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, President of the National Institute of Development Administration in Bangkok, has participated in Thailand's electoral politics as a leading voice among Thai academics within public forums. Professor Sombat will join via Skype from Bangkok.

Nick Cullather, Professor in the Department of History

Marjorie Hershey, Professor in the Department of Political Science

Phil Parnell, Associate Professor in the Department of International Studies