PRIO welcomes you to an all day-seminar on Thailand. The seminar aims to explore the question of why Thailand has not in the last decade formed a part of the East Asian peace trend, but has instead seen an upsurge of political violence, notably in the Malay-Muslim southern part of the country, but also on the Thai-Cambodian border, and in the streets of Bangkok.
Among the speakers are eminent experts on Thailand, such as Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak (Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok), Professor Duncan McCargo (University of Leeds), and Professor Srisompob Jitpiromsri of the Prince of Songkla University in Pattani, southern Thailand. A number of Nordic researchers who have studied the conflicts in Thailand will also take part in the seminar.
The seminar is open for all.
Program for the day:
| 08:30 – 09:00 | Stein Tønnesson (PRIO): Introduction |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 10:00 | Thitinan Pongsudhirak (Chulalongkorn University): “Thailand: Reconciling Monarchy and Democracy” |
| Discussant: Eva Hansson (Stockholm) | |
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Duncan McCargo (University of Leeds): “Reconciling Truth? The Politics of Thailand's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 2010-12” (co-authored with Naruemon Thabchumpon) |
| Discussant: Elin Bjarnegård (Uppsala) | |
| 11:00 – 11:15 | Coffee break |
| 11:15 – 12:15 | Srisompob Jitpiromsri (Prince of Sonkla University, Pattani): “Discourses of Conflict and Peace- Initiatives in Southern Thailand” |
| Discussant: Marte Nilsen (PRIO) | |
| 12:15 – 13:15 | Lunch for invited guests |
| 13:15 – 14:15 | Stein Tønnesson (PRIO): “Why So Much Violence in Thailand?” |
| Discussant: Duncan McCargo | |
| 14:15 – 15:15 | Coffee break |
| 15:15 – 16:00 | Concluding session: Srisompob Jitpiromsri, Duncan McCargo, Thitinan Pongsudhirak |
