Since the late 1980s, Thai politics has been characterized by a recurring cycle of elections, mass protests, and political interventions by the army, the monarchy, and the judiciary. The general election on Sunday 14 May has once again raised hopes among significant sections of the Thai public that democratic progress may be achieved via the ballot box. Others wish for the election to consolidate a system of semi-democracy similar to that which prevailed for much of the 1980s. What is the likelihood that either of these visions prevail? This talk attempts to answer that question by situating current political developments in a longer historical perspective.

Tomas Larsson is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John’s College. With an undergraduate degree in East and Southeast Asian Studies and Thai from Lund University, he worked as a freelance journalist based in Thailand from 1990 to 2000, writing for a wide range of publications, including Svenska Dagbladet. He then pursued graduate studies at Cornell University, where he produced an award-winning PhD dissertation. He is the author of Land and Loyalty: Security and the Development of Property Rights in Thailand (2012), The Race to the Top: The Real Story of Globalization (2001), and, with Hans Johansson, Thai: Lärobok för Nybörjare (1991). His ongoing research concerns Buddhism and politics in Thailand and political liberalism in Southeast Asia.