Organizer: Thailand Studies Programme, ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute
Type/Location: Virtual
Description:
In 2025, Thailand’s Deep South enters its 21st year of violent conflicts between insurgents and Thai security forces. The broader insurrection—rooted in resistance to Siam’s attempts at forced assimilation—has persisted for over a century. In the first decade after 2004, the military relied on coercion and empty promises. Since around 2014, its counterinsurgency strategy has combined elite-level dialogue with selective repression.
Since the 2023 election, civilians have played a more prominent role in overseeing the state’s Deep South policy, working with the military in negotiations with insurgent leaders. Meanwhile, Thailand’s Lower House has come to serve as a forum for exploring alternative policy approaches. This webinar will examine the current situation in the Deep South, the role of security forces, potential pathways to resolving the crisis, and its implications for national politics.
About the Speakers:
Dr. Paul Chambers is Lecturer and Advisor to the Center of ASEAN Community Studies, Naresuan University in Thailand, a Visiting Senior Fellow in the Thai Studies Programme at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, and Executive Editor of Asian Affairs: An American Review. He focuses upon international relations democratization, peace studies,and civil-military relations in Southeast Asia (particularly Thailand).
Dr. Srisompob Jitpiromsri is a lecturer and research associate at the Center for Conflict Studies and Cultural Diversity (CSCD), Prince of Songkla University–Pattani Campus. He is the director of Deep South Watch (DSW), a think tank monitoring the conflict in Southern Thailand. He is a former director of the Centre for Conflict Studies and Cultural Diversity (CSCD), a university excellence center organized by Prince of Songkla University, where he is currently affiliated. CSCD is now under Institute for Peace Studies (IPS) of the Prince of Songkla University. Dr. Srisompob is a leading authority on the insurgency in Thailand’s Deep South.
Registration Link:
To attend the event online, please register here.