Petra Alderman

Thailand and Cambodia’s escalating conflict has roots in century-old border dispute Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia over a disputed border area have flared, with a quick diplomatic resolution looking unlikely.

Here is a short explainer on the context behind the recent Cambodia-Thailand border conflict that I wrote for The Conversation a few days ago...Yes, it has deep historical roots, but there is also a new dynamic of the Hun-Shinawatra feud

theconversation.com/thailand-and...

#Thailand #Cambodia

A border conflict may cost the Thai prime minister her job Thailand’s domestic political situation is heating up on the back of a border conflict with Cambodia.

Here is a short top-level piece on what has been going on in #Thailand that I wrote for The Conversation👇

theconversation.com/a-border-con...

Paetongtarn feels heat over leaked call Thai-Cambodian relations have sharply deteriorated following the leak of a phone call between Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen. Speaking on Wednesday after ...

Domestic political situation in 🇹🇭 is heating up! 🥵 But the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict is not the cause of Paetongtarn's domestic troubles. Yes, it adds fuel and serves as a pretext for anti-gov action, but the core issues are entirely home-grown.

www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/gen...

The U.S.-China Rivalry is Not a Cypher for the World In Thailand, support for liberal democracy or authoritarianism at home does not map onto support for America or China abroad.

@petraalderman.bsky.social writes that popular support for authoritarianism does not equal support for close ties to China. It might just as well mean demand for closer ties with the US.

Read her analysis of how Thailand shows us this here:
open.substack.com/pub/uscnpm/p...

#BREAKING: DSI Special Cases Board decides to investigate alleged collusion of 2024 Senate election, in which most members have alleged ties to Bhumjaithai Party. Case is seen has part of wider coalition conflict with ruling Pheu Thai, whose Dep-PM Phumtham chaired that meeting.

International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds quits over aid cuts Dodds delayed her resignation until after Keir Starmer's meeting with President Trump, saying he had needed a united cabinet.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The opposition People's Party have submitted a motion for a non-confidence debate against the govt of PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra, accusing her of "lacking leadership", "appointing incompetent" ministers, "enabling corruption and nepotism" and being a "puppet" of her father, ex-PM Thaksin.

~40 Uyghurs are feared to have been deported from Thailand to China this AM

What we know:
- trucks seen leaving Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok at Thu, 2am
- unscheduled China Southern Airlines flight left Don Muang Airport shortly after and landed in Kashgar, Xinjiang Province

(cont.)

Singapore prepared to move forward with confidence amid global uncertainties: SM Lee However, the government cannot do this alone and needs Singaporeans to stay united and rally behind it, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   

Singapore prepared to move forward with confidence amid global uncertainties: SM Lee

This very much reminds me of @petraalderman.bsky.social's work on post-coup Thailand's attempt at nation branding (that includes soft power) to garner domestic political legitimacy. Her book is worth a read.

Thank you @saksith.news for the very kind shout-out! It’s much appreciated 🤩

How to Strengthen Democratic Resilience This report aims to enable activists, civil society groups, policymakers, donors, and researchers to better understand democratic resilience.

Earlier, we had our first #CEDAR reading group of 2025, reading the new CEDAR report by @fromagehomme.bsky.social Marie-Eve Desrosiers, Licia Cianetti & @manoelgehrke.bsky.social

Democratic resilience is the 🔥 topic of this year. What does it mean to you? europeandemocracyhub.epd.eu/how-to-stren...

Finally managed to catch up with the two latest Talking Thai Politics podcast episodes hosted by Duncan McCargo - so many synergies with my own work and research interests. Can’t recommend them enough! 🇹🇭 🎧👇

newbooksnetwork.com/category/up-...

Tackling climate change: WFD launches an environmental democracy project in The Gambia Search

🌍 Democracy can address global challenges like climate change.

In December 2024, the British High Commission in Banjul and WFD launched an Environmental Democracy Project, which aims at addressing climate change issues in The Gambia.

Learn more about the project ⤵️
https://buff.ly/3ECUpN2

Lovely day to come down to London to brief FCDO officials on #Thailand’s authoritarian institutions 🇹🇭 I talked about the evolution, effects and future implications of the country’s authoritarian-minded ‘check & balance’ institutions, drawing on a recent IPSR paper ‘Subverting elections in Thailand’

44 former Move Forward MPs face ethical misconduct charges The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has sent notifications to 44 former MPs of the now defunct Move Forward party, asking them to report to the commi

5 years ago, the Future Forward Party was dissolved. In '23, the Move Forward Party won the most seats but was blocked from forming a govt. In '24, it was dissolved for challenging lese majeste. Now, some seemingly want to finish off the People's Party - but history shows it could backfire again.

Great piece, Ken! 👏🏻

Dark Blue Power Bhumjaithai wields its strength to protect the constitutional status quo

The Bhumjaithai Party has proven willing to frequently act as an internal opposition party within the Pheu Thai coalition. And with the "dark blue Senate," they've thrown their weight behind protecting the constitutional status quo. coffeeparliament.substack.com/p/dark-blue-...

#BREAKING: For a second day in a row, a joint-session of House and Senate on amending the constitution failed due to a lack of quorum after many MPs and Senators staying away - yet again excacerbating the deadlock between lawmakers over reforming the 2017 junta-era charter.

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What leads to gender quota adoption in post-conflict commissions? New article out with @dawnwalsh.bsky.social - we look at the role that women's political empowerment, UNSCR 1325, and external mediators play in affecting gender provisions for commission design journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

🚨 Great to see my 'Subverting elections in Thailand: inclusion and independence in election commission design and practice' paper out as part of the upcoming IPSR special issue edited by the brilliant @dawnwalsh.bsky.social & Natascha Neudorfer 🤩

Read here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Party in the Provinces The increasing prominence of national parties in Thai local politics

Candidates for local offices in Thailand have usually been reluctant to run with a national party. So why have partisan labels become more common in the recent elections? I explore this phenomenon here: coffeeparliament.substack.com/p/party-in-t... #Thailand #SoutheastAsia

Today I’m at Stockholm University delivering a talk on my #BrandingAuthoritarianNations book. I will argue that nation branding is a deeply political practice that is integral to regime legitimation, particularly in authoritarian regimes. Looking forward to meeting everyone there!