Buddhism and Constitutional Change in Thailand with Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang

Summary

Since becoming a constitutional monarchy in 1932, Thailand has been governed by twenty different constitutions. Although they all had their own unique features, constitutions from 1997 onwards placed much emphasis on judiciary and elite watchdog agencies as the righteous arbiters of Thai political life. In this podcast, Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang of Chulalongkorn University talks to Petra Desatova from NIAS about this constitutional change and its roots in traditional Buddhist notions of power and karma.

The Nordic Asia Podcast is a collaboration sharing expertise on Asia across the Nordic region, brought to you by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) based at the University of Copenhagen, along with our academic partners: the Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the University of Turku, Asianettverket at the University of Oslo, and the Forum for Asian Studies at Stockholm University.

About NIAS: https://www.nias.ku.dk/

Transcripts of the Nordic Asia Podcasts: https://www.nias.ku.dk/nordic-asia-podcast

Your Host

Petra Alderman

Petra Alderman (prev. Desatova) is an associate researcher at the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies and a post-doctoral research fellow at the International Development Department at the University of Birmingham. Her research interests lie in the area of authoritarian legitimation, electoral studies and promotional politics. Her regional focus is on Southeast Asia and has a particular expertise on Thailand.

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