JOURNAL ARTICLE: Monopolization Strengthens: Thailand’s Asian Democracy Index in 2015

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JOURNAL ARTICLE: Monopolization Strengthens: Thailand’s Asian Democracy Index in 2015

On May 22, 2014, Thailand underwent its most recent military coup that prompted the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to govern the country. This research demonstrates that Thailand under military rule has entered a period of re-monopolization of political, economic and civil society power, that is in contrast with the measures of democracy as understood through the lens of Asian Democracy Index (ADI).

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CONFERENCE PAPER: Arenas of Water Justice on Transboundary Rivers

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CONFERENCE PAPER: Arenas of Water Justice on Transboundary Rivers

By Carl Middleton

This paper examines how processes of transboundary river resource dispossession by large hydropower dams have been challenged within “arenas of water justice” in Southeast Asia, conceptualized as politicized spaces of water governance in which a process for claiming and/or defending the Right to Water takes place.

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JOURNAL ARTICLE: Technical Veil, Hidden Politics: Interrogating the Power Linkages Behind the Nexus

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JOURNAL ARTICLE: Technical Veil, Hidden Politics: Interrogating the Power Linkages Behind the Nexus

By Jeremy Allouche, Carl Middleton (International Researcher, CSDS), and Dipak Gyawali.

The nexus is still very much an immature concept. Although it is difficult to disagree with a vision of integration between water, food and energy systems, there are fewer consensuses about what it means in reality. While some consider its framing to be too restrictive (excluding climate change and nature), particular actors see it as linked to green economy and poverty reduction, while others emphasise global scarcity and value chain management. The nexus debates, however, mask a bigger debate on resource inequality and access, contributing to social instability.

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JOURNAL ARTICLE: The Rise And Implications of the Water-energy-food Nexus In Southeast Asia Through An Environmental Justice Lens

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JOURNAL ARTICLE: The Rise And Implications of the Water-energy-food Nexus In Southeast Asia Through An Environmental Justice Lens

By Carl Middleton (International Researcher, CSDS), Jeremy Allouche, Dipak Gyawali and Sarah Allen.

This article maps the rise of the water-energy-food 'nexus' as a research, policy and project agenda in mainland Southeast Asia. We argue that introducing the concept of environmental justice into the nexus, especially where narratives, trade-offs and outcomes are contested, could make better use of how the nexus is framed, understood and acted upon.

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JOURNAL ARTICLE: Transboundary Water and Electricity Governance in Mainland Southeast Asia: Linkages, Disjunctures and Implications.

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JOURNAL ARTICLE: Transboundary Water and Electricity Governance in Mainland Southeast Asia: Linkages, Disjunctures and Implications.

By Carl Middleton and John Dore

In mainland Southeast Asia, plans for extensive hydropower development and regional power trade are increasingly underway with implications for transboundary water governance. This paper maps out the context, drivers, tools and arenas of water and electricity decision making, and examines the linkages and disjunctures between regional electricity and water governance frameworks.

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JOURNAL ARTICLE: The Polarization of Thai Democracy: The Asian Democracy Index in Thailand

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JOURNAL ARTICLE: The Polarization of Thai Democracy: The Asian Democracy Index in Thailand

By Naruemon Thabchumpon (Director, CSDS), Jakkrit Sangkhamanee, Carl Middleton (International Researcher, CSDS), and Weera Wongsatjachock.

In recent years, explanation of Thailand’s democratization has been subject to intense debate. Some political experts say that Thai politics is monopolized by a few groups of political elites (see for example Thitinan 2014). Others have argued that various politically influential movements exist in Thailand, including those that support elections and that oppose corruption. In this paper, we argue that Thai democracy is no longer a game of elites, but that to a certain but significant extent laypeople have become involved in different spheres to assert their political, economic, and social influence or, through the lens of Cho (2012), acted to de-monopolize power. 

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BOOK: Challenges To Human Security In A Borderless World

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BOOK: Challenges To Human Security In A Borderless World

Edited by Surichai Wun'gaeo

This book is a collection of papers presented at the international symposium on Human Security chaired by Amartya Sen and Sadako Ogata. More than 700 participants attended the symposium held at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok on 11th December 2002. The participants came not only from different parts of the world but also diverse background.

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BOOK: Rural Livelihoods and Human Insecurities in Globalizing Asian Economies 

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BOOK: Rural Livelihoods and Human Insecurities in Globalizing Asian Economies 

Edited by Surichai Wun'gaeo

This book is a collection of papers presented at the international symposium Rural Livelihoods and Human Insecurities in Globalizing Asian Economies organized by the Asian Rural Sociological Association and the Center for Social Development studies, Chulalongkorn University on July 28-29, 2006 at Chulalongkorn University.

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BOOK: Human Security Now: Strengthening Policy Networks in Southeast Asia

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BOOK: Human Security Now: Strengthening Policy Networks in Southeast Asia

Edited by Surichai Wun'gaeo

This book is a collection of papers presented at the International Conference of Human Security Now: Strengthening Policy Networks in Southeast Asia organized by the advisory Board on Human Security and Centre for Social Development Studies, Chulalongkorn University on March 4-5, 2004 at Chulalongkorn University.

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