Dr Thitinan Pongsudhirak
Mailing Address: 36/13-14 Soi Pibulsongkram 22
Nonthaburi 11000 THAILAND
(email: pongsudhirak@hotmail.com)
EDUCATION:
2001 PhD in International Political Economy
The London School of Economics and Political Science
Thesis: “Crisis From Within: The Politics of
Macroeconomic Management in Thailand, 1947-97”
(Awarded United Kingdom’s Best Dissertation Prize)
1992 MA, The Johns Hopkins University, School of
Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Concentrations: International Economics and
International Relations
1989 BA (Honours) with Distinction in Political
Science
The University of California at Santa Barbara
Concentration: International Relations
EXPERIENCE:
August 2006 – present Director of the Institute of
Security and International Studies (ISIS), Faculty of Political Science,
Chulalongkorn University
September 2006 – present Associate Professor,
Department of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science,
Chulalongkorn University
Courses taught: International political economy;
survey of international relations literature; social science, research skills
June 2004 – September 2006 Assistant Professor,
Department of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science,
Chulalongkorn University
February 2005 – present Columnist, The Bangkok Post,
Contribute regular op-eds on Thai politics, Macro-economy and foreign policy
September 2002 – June 2004 Deputy Dean for
International Affairs, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University
June 1993 – June 2004 Lecturer, Department of
International Relations, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University
November 2005 Consultant, Preuksa Real Estate (PR)
Assisted Preuksa on its road show in preparation for
listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand
March – April 2005 Visiting Research Fellow,
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore
February – March 2004 Consultant, Airports of
Thailand (AOT), Assisted the AOT on its road show in preparation for listing on
the Stock Exchange of Thailand
January 1998 - 2007 The Economist Intelligence Unit
(EIU), Thailand Country Analyst
March 1997 – 2007 Consultant, Independent Economic
Analysis (IDEA), (Money-markets consultancy), Country Analyst, Thai politics
and macroeconomy
April 1997 – 1999 Part-time Producer/Commentator,
The BBC World Service, Thai Section/East Asia Today
August - September 1997 Campaign Organiser of
Overseas Thais for the Constitution (OTC), an overseas Thai movement of more
than 3,000 members who lobbied for the passage of Thailand’s 1997 constitution.
Organized the campaign via the Internet,
<www.public.iastate.edu/~stu_org/Thai/consti>
March - June 1994 Visiting Faculty Researcher,
University of Tuebingen, GERMANY (Wrote a paper on comparative security
organizations between ASEAN and the EU)
September 1994 - 2004 Freelance Simultaneous
Translator (Thai-English)
September 1994 - 1996 Contributing Editor,The
Nation, English-language daily newspaper (Columnist on current Thai politics,
economy, current
affairs, and foreign relations)
August 1993 - March 1994 Research Associate Thailand
Development Research Institute (TDRI) (Researched water allocation problems in
Thailand)
June 1992 - June 1993 Reporter and Staff Writer, The
Nation Wrote business news stories, with emphasis on Thai macro-economic
policy, international trade and finance, stock market, and foreign direct
investment
June - August 1991 Intern, Burson-Marsteller,
public-relations consultancy
AWARDS
AND FELLOWSHIPS:
Spring 2010 Stanford University International
Scholar
June 2009 Salzburg Global Seminar Faculty Member
October 2008 Japan Foundation’s Thailand Cultural Leader
November 2006 Asia Society Young Leaders Summit
March – April 2005 Visiting Research Fellowship,
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore
2002 National Research Council of Thailand’s Ph.D.
Dissertation Prize in Political Science and Public
Administration
2001 United Kingdom’s Best Ph.D. Dissertation in
Comparative and International Politics
1996 – 1999 Harvard-Yenching Ph.D. Scholarship
1991 – 1992 SAIS M.A. Scholarship
1990 – 1991 Leonard Dalsemer M.A. Scholarship
1989 – 1990 Henry Luce Graduate Fellowship
1989 B.A. Graduation with Distinction in Political
Science, University of California at Santa Barbara
1988 – 1989 University of California Undergraduate
Fellowship
BOOKS:
Thailand’s
Trade Policy Strategy and Capacity (in Thai),
co-authored with Dr Razeen Sally, Bangkok: Department of International
Relations, Chulalongkorn University, 2008.
Ten
Years After the Economic Crisis: Thai Democracy at a Three-Way Crossroads
(in Thai), Bangkok: Double AA Publishers, 2007.
Great
Issues in Thailand's Public and Foreign Policies in the Next Decade
(in Thai), coedited with Abhinya Rattanamongkolmas, Bangkok: The Institute of
Security and International Studies, 1994.
ARTICLES
AND BOOK CHAPTERS:
“Between Change and Continuity: Thailand’s
Topsy-Turvy Foreign Policy Directions” in Global Asia, October-December
2009.
“The
Search for A New Consensus” in Journal of
International Security Affairs, Fall 2009.
“The
Tragedy of the 1997 Constitution” in John Funston (ed.),
Thailand’s Continuing Crises:
The Coup and Violence in the South, Singapore:
ISEAS, 2009
“After the Red Uprising”, Far Eastern Economic
Review, May 2009.
“Thailand Since the Coup”, Journal of Democracy,
October-December 2008.
“Thaksin: Competitive Authoritarian and Flawed
Dissident” in John Kane, Haig Patapan and Benjamin Wong (eds), Dissident
Democrats: The Challenge of Democratic Leadership in Asia, New York, NY:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
“Mainland Southeast Asia, ASEAN and the Major Powers
in East Asian Regional Order” in Jun Tsunekawa (ed.), Regional Order in East
Asia: ASEAN and Japan Perspectives, Tokyo: National Institute for Defense
Studies, 2007.
“World War II and Thailand After 60 Years: Legacies
and Latent Side-Effects” in David Koh (ed.), World War II: Transient and
Enduring Legacies for East and Southeast Asia 60 Years On, Singapore: Institute
of Southeast Asian Studies, 2007.
“The Malay-Muslim Insurgency in Southern Thailand”
in Andrew T.H. Tan (ed.), A Handbook of Terrorism and Insurgency in Southeast
Asia, Singapore: Edward Elgar, 2007.
“Thaksin’s Political Zenith and Nadir” in Southeast
Asian Affairs 2006, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2006.
“Thailand” in Russell H.K. Heng and Rahul Sen (eds),
Regional Outlook: Southeast Asia, 2006-2007, Singapore: Institute of Southeast
Asian Studies, 2006.
“Thai Politics After the 6 February 2005 General
Election”, Trends Series, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
(ISEAS), March 2005.
“Thailand’s Foreign Policy Under the Thaksin
Government”, EurAsia Bulletin, Brussels: European Institute of Asian Studies,
December 2004.
“The Rise of Bilateral Free Trade Areas in Asia” in
Hank Lim and Chungly Lee (eds), The North-South Divide: An Appraisal of Asian
Regionalism, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Publishers, 2004.
“Globalisation and Its Thai Critics” in Yoichiro
Sato (ed.) Growth and Governance in Asia, Honolulu: Asia Pacific Centre for
Security Studies, 2004.
“Thailand: Democratic Authoritarianism”, Southeast
Asian Affairs 2003, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2003.
“Small Arms Trafficking in Southeast Asia: A Perspective
from Thailand” in Philips J. Vermonte (ed.), Small Is (Not) Beautiful: The
Problem of Small Arms in Southeast Asia, Jakarta: Centre for Strategic and
International Studies, 2004.
“Autonomy, Institutions, and the Baht Crisis”, in
Dieter Mahneke, Kullada Kesboonchoo-Mead, Prathoomporn Vajrasthira, and Rudolf
Hrbek (eds), ASEAN and the EU in the International Environment, Asia-Europe
Studies Series Volume 4. Baden-Baden, Germany: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, 1999.
“Thailand’s media: Whose watchdog?” in Kevin Hewison
(ed.), Political Change in Thailand. London: Routledge, 1997.
“ASEAN Security Imperatives: Lessons From European
Security Cooperation”, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok: Journal of European
Studies, Vol. 3, 1995.
“The Central Plains”, a chapter in Water Conflicts,
Bangkok: Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), 1995.
“Thailand’'s Foreign Economic Policies in An
Uncertain Era: Arranging Priorities for the 21st Century” (in Thai), a chapter
in Abhinya Rattanamongkolmas and Thitinan Pongsudhirak (eds), Great Issues in
Thailand’s Public and Foreign Policies in the Next Decade (in Thai), 1994.
SELECTED OP-EDS:
The Bangkok Post, “Political realignments - backing
and baramee’”, 9 October 2009
The Bangkok Post, “Abhisit’s fantastic speech about
a fanciful Thailand”, 30 September 2009
The Bangkok Post, “Right-wing PAD must not resort to
irredentism”, 23 September 2009
The Bangkok Post, “The coup-making coalition’s
mistaken basic premise”, 18 September 2009
The Bangkok Post, “Lessons from the tragedy of 1997
charter”, 16 September 2009
The Bangkok Post, “Public played for fools in police
power plays”, 11 September 2009
The Bangkok Post, “A ticking time-bomb no one’s
defusing”, 9 September 2009
The Bangkok Post “Asean’s credibility and relevance
in the spotlight”, 17 July 2009
The Bangkok Post, “By-election results will see a
realignment”, 30 June 2009
The Bangkok Post, “Asean-Korea summit to highlight
Seoul’s soft power”, 1 June 2009
The Bangkok Post, “Asean Charter faces its first
major crisis”, 28 May 2009
The Bangkok Post, “The politics of charter amendment
and amnesty”, 1 May 2009
Far Eastern Economic Review, “After the Uprising”,
19 April 2009
The New York Times, “Why Thais Are Angry”, 18 April
2009
The Bangkok Post, “Normalcy requires a semblance of
equal justice”, 16 April 2009
OpinionAsia.org, “Thailand’s anti-establishment
forces in retreat (for now)”, 15 April 2009
The Bangkok Post, “Red shirts need restraint and the
way forward”, 8 April 2009
The Bangkok Post, “Don’t underestimate the red
shirts’ wrath”, 3 April 2009
The Bangkok Post, “Censure may serve to strengthen
govt”, 20 March 2009
The Bangkok Post, “Transport Ministry's one-airport
policy smells fishy”, 13 March 2009
The Bangkok Post, “Asean’s problematic search for
relevance”, 6 March 2009
The Bangkok Post, “So far not so good for Abhisit’s
govt”, 6 February 2009
The Bangkok Post, “PM’s baggage confronts his
political inheritance”, 30 January 2009
The Bangkok Post, “A crucial year, when foul is fair
and fair is foul”, 9 January 2009
The Bangkok Post, “Expect prime minister’s political
instincts to be put to the test at any time”, 19 December 2008
The Bangkok Post, “Triple whammy besets Thai
economy”, 12 December 2008
The Bangkok Post, “Grinding crisis needs an
accommodation”, 5 December 2008
The Bangkok Post, “The spectre of the UDD’s
inexorable backlash”, 2 December 2008
The Bangkok Post, “Where is the PAD going with
this?”, 27 November 2008.
The Bangkok Post, “House dissolution best way out of
impasse”, 12 September 2008
The Bangkok Post, “It’s the tyranny of a PAD-led
minority”, 1 September 2008
The Bangkok Post, “Autonomy is imperative for Bank
of Thailand”, 21 August 2008
The Bangkok Post, “The stakes in post-Thaksin
Thailand”, 13 August 2008
OpinionAsia.com, “The US and Asia After President
Bush”, 11 August 2008
The Bangkok Post, “President Bush’s mixed legacy in
Asia”, 8 August 2008
The Bangkok Post, “PM Samak’s futile cabinet
reshuffle”, 5 August 2008
The Bangkok Post, “The politics of Preah Vihear and
Phra Viharn”, 25 July 2008
The Bangkok Post, “PM Samak retakes the offensive”,
17 July 2008
The Bangkok Post, “The censure debate and its
implications”, 27 June 2008
The Bangkok Post, “The hijacking of Thai democracy
“, 23 June 2008
The Bangkok Post, “The People’s Alliance, then and
now”, 10 June 2008
The Bangkok Post, “To avoid another coup”, 30 May
2008
The Bangkok Post, “Asean must be effective
gatekeeper for victims”, 22 May 2008
The Bangkok Post, “A tale of two charters”, 15 May
2008
The Bangkok Post, “Battle lines drawn over charter
changes”, 25 April 2008
The Bangkok Post, “Crisis of charter amendments
looms”, 4 April 2008
The Bangkok Post, “PPP govt picks up where Thaksin
left off”, 14 March 2008
The Bangkok Post, “The politics of Thaksin’s
homecoming”, 29 February 2008
The Bangkok Post, “Resurgent populism under ‘B
Team’”, 8 February 2008
The Bangkok Post, “Samak's prospects and longevity”,
1 February 2008
The Bangkok Post, “A grand tug-of-war still
prevails”, 22 January 2008
The Bangkok Post, “When Hong Kong comes to Bangkok”,
11 January 2008
The Asian Wall Street Journal, “Let the Party
Begin”, 28 December 2007
The Bangkok Post, “PPP-led govt not a foregone
conclusion”, 25 December 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Populism triumphs in an emerging
new Thailand”, 20 December 2007
OpinionAsia.org, “Thai Rak Thai’s Reincarnations To
Win the Election”, 18 December 2007
The Asian Wall Street Journal, “The Resurrection of
Thai Rak Thai”, 12 December 2007
The Bangkok Post, “The post-election numbers game”,
3 December 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Asean’s bang ends in a whimper”,
28 November 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Coalition govt a foregone
conclusion?”, 13 November 2007
OpinionAsia.com, “Thailand’s Biggest Question Mark:
King Bhumibol’s Health”, 11 November 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Leadership shapes electoral
landscape”, 24 October 2007
The Bangkok Post, “The junta plays a new ball game”,
10 October 2007
The Bangkok Post, “ASEAN’s failure and Thailand’s
shame”, 28 September 2007
The Bangkok Post, “The Politics of Gen Sonthi’s
civilian role”, 27 September 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Little good about ‘good’ coup”,
19 September 2007
South China Morning Post, “Climbing on the ruins of
Thai democracy”, 6 September 2007
The Asian Wall Street Journal, “A Poor Poll”, 21
August 2007
OpinionAsia.org, “Thailand’s Power Holders Put
Thaksin Away”, 20 June 2007
OpinionAsia.org, “Anti-Thaksin Draft Charter is a
Dead End”, 30 April 2007
OpinionAsia.org, “Thai junta in search of Exit
Strategy”, 29 March 2007
The Asian Wall Street Journal, “Thailand’s
Constitutional Crisis”, 24 May 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Designed to prevent monopoly”, 20
April 2007
The Asian Wall Street Journal, “A Coup Disgraced”,
12 April 2007
The Bangkok Post, “A long road to general election
day”, 10 April 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Government's baht policy in
disarray”, 28 March 2007
The Bangkok Post, “CNS in search of an exit
strategy”, 23 March 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Reshuffle unlikely to be PM's
last”, 14 March 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Crisis of leadership hits Surayud
govt”, 2 March 2007
The Irrawaddy, “Thailand’s Titanic Struggle”,
February 2007
OpinionAsia.org, “Thaksin is down but still not
out”, 16 February 2007
The Bangkok Post, “The Surayud govt's moral setback”,
20 February 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Bangkok's two-airport
imperative”, 14 February 2007
The Bangkok Post, “CNS, govt face high stakes at
Suvarnabhumi”, 12 February 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Enough is definitely not enough”,
26 January 2007
OpinionAsia, “The End of Thailand (as we know it),
20 January 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Singapore's insensitive
miscalculation”, 18 January 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Legal clarity becomes policy
confusion”, 13 January 2007
Asia Times Online, “Thailand’s Year of Living
Dangerously”, 5 January 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Objective clear, identity murky”,
4 January 2007
The Bangkok Post, “Surayud govt's technocratic
debacle”, 27 December 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Alarming constitutional
preferences”, 22 December 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Alarming rifts in anti-Thaksin
coalition”, 15 December 2006
Asia Times Online, “Singapore's troubled Shin Corp
deal”, 13 December 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Something is odd about the coup”,
24 November 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Doing a Thaksin deepens Singapore's
culpability”, 13 November 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Military losing post-coup
momentum”, 2 November 2006
The Bangkok Post, “No honeymoon for the general”, 3
October 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Uphill struggle ahead for coup
council”, 26 September 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Stepping in to heal the breach”,
22 September 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Political implications of
election delay”, 20 September 2006
The Bangkok Post, “The politics of Suvarnabhumi
Airport”, 13 September 2006
The Bangkok Post, “C-in-C's olive branch anathema to
CEO”, 6 September 2006
The Irrawaddy, “Thailand at the Crossroads”,
September 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Behind Thaksin's
self-victimisation”, 29 August 2006
The Bangkok Post, “The Democrat party’s moment of
truth”, 16 August 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Brinkmanship at nation’s
expense”, 7 August 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Small step in the right
direction”, 31 July 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Decree does not legitimise
Thaksin”, 24 July 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Thaksin goes on the offensive” 12
July 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Coupling may exonerate TRT”, 29
June 2006
The Bangkok Post, “End of beginning in Thailand’s
crisis”, 19 May 2006
The Bangkok Post, “A murky way out of the political
crisis”, 5 May 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Post-Thaksin economic policy
challenges”, 14 April 2006
The Bangkok Post, “The political standoff is not
over”, 7 April 2006
The Bangkok Post, “PAD needs to regroup and
rethink”, 29 March 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Thaksin’s endgame is now in
sight”, 17 March 2006
International Herald Tribune, “Thailand: Thaksin’s
challengers have responsibility, too”, 14 March 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Boycott: the easy, but wrong, way
out”, 28 February 2006
The Bangkok Post, “PM must dissolve House now, or
resign in disgrace later”, 24 February 2006
The Bangkok Post, “House dissolution is best way
out”, 10 February 2006
The Asian Wall Street Journal, “Thai Democracy’s
‘Tumultuous Standoff’, 9 February 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Is Temasek complicit in
scandal?”, 6 February 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Perception, not the substance, is
vital”, 3 February 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Thaksin’s political insurance
policy”, 26 January 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Thaksin’s political survival at
stake”, 13 January 2006
The Bangkok Post, “Sondhi should go back to his
office”, 9 December 2005
The Asian Wall Street Journal, “Thai Democracy on
the March”, 2-4 December 2005.
The Bangkok Post, “Egat could be Thaksin’s undoing”,
28 November 2005
The Bangkok Post, “The de-mystification of PM
Thaksin”, 20 September 2005
The Bangkok Post, “Latent effects from Thailand’s
brush with the great war”, 16 August 2005
The Bangkok Post, “Thailand’s wartime balancing
act”, 15 August 2005
The Irrawaddy, “A Win-Win-Win Proposition for
Thaksin”, August 2005
The Bangkok Post, “What next after the emergency
decree?”, 22 July 2005
The Bangkok Post, “The hawks now in complete
charge”, 19 July 2005
The Bangkok Post, “’Thaksinomics’ ignores the
reality”, 15 July 2005
The Bangkok Post, “The ‘little empires’ are striking
back”, 28 June 2005
The Bangkok Post, “Seeing through obfuscation”, 24
May 2005
The Bangkok Post, “Bloody events have mixed legacy”,
20 May 2005
The Straits Times, “Stay the course on southern
troubles”, 9 April 2005.
The Straits Times, “Thaksin’s second chance in
Thailand”, 26 March 2005.
The Asian Wall Street Journal, “Facing Up to
Thailand’s Separatism”, 11 November 2004
The Asian Wall Street Journal, “Thaksin Flirts With
Liverpool”, 26 May 2004
The Bangkok Post, “Thaksin casts a wide spell”, 19
January 2004.
Far Eastern Economic Review, “Behind Thaksin’s War
on Terror”, 25 September 2003.
International Herald Tribune, “No dissent in
Bangkok?”, 5 March 2002.
International Herald Tribune, “But the
Prime-Minister-to-Be Could Be Ruled Out”, 10 January 2001.
International Herald Tribune, “Thailand’s
Incompetent Government Cries Out for Reform,” 12 August 1997.
International Herald Tribune, “One Year After the
Thai Crisis: Some Winners and Losers”, 2 July 1998.
Far Eastern Economic Review, "Avoid the 18th coup,"
(5th column), 4 April 1991.
*** Additional op-eds written for The Nation and
Bangkok Post available on request.
OTHER MEDIA:
TELEVISION: Commented on Thai politics and
macro-economy for CNN, CNBC, BBC
World, Bloomberg TV, NHK, Australian Broadcasting
Corporation, Channel News Asia,
Reuters TV, AFPTV, APTV, PBS, Al Jazeera, BBC2
Newsnight Program, Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation, Star TV News, The
MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (May 1992), and
local Thai TV stations 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, TNN, and TV
Thai.
PRINT AND RADIO:
Quoted in The Economist, The
Financial Times, The New York
Times, Time, Newsweek, Bloomberg News, International
Herald Tribune, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily
Telegraph, Le Figaro, Le Match, Der Spiegel, Straits Times, Today, New Straits Times,
Sydney Morning Herald, The Star, USA Today, Boston Globe, Asahi Shimbun, Mainichi
Shimbun, Kyodo News, Nikkei, Far Eastern Economic Review, Asian Business, Reuters, AP, AFP,
Bloomberg, National Public Radio, Voice of America, Radio Singapore, Radio Australia,
Radio Scotland, BBC World Service
East Asia Today, and BBC NewsHour, among other
broadcast outlets
OTHER BACKGROUND DETAILS:
Languages: Thai (native); Thai and English
(bilingual); French (functional)
Hobbies: Competition-level tennis; maps
Marital Status: Married to Dr Pavida Pananond, with
one daughter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thitinan_Pongsudhirak
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thitinan_Pongsudhirak
