The Australian National University

Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Politics and International Relations

College of Arts & Social Sciences

Thesis Title: Embracing proaction: the role of self-perception in Thailand's post-Cold War foreign policy

About

I am a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Politics & International Relations. Specifically, I am working in a research project on Anti-Nuclear Norm Entrepeneurs in Developing States, funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anti-Nuclear Norm Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries:  Evaluating and Encouraging Best Practices.

This project investigates how norm entrepreneurs in low-income countries can produce shifts in how states, elites, and the public conceive of “security” and “success” when it comes to nuclear politics. Because elites often face conflicting norms, norm entrepreneurs can be decisive in shaping how elites judge which norms are most relevant. But how precisely do they accomplish this extraordinary outcome? This research will open a new window on anti-nuclear entrepreneurs: the strategies they use, the influences they have, and how they help redefine the value of nuclear weapons in today’s international system. While some research has been done on norm entrepreneurs in international relations, little has been done on their role in international security, and even less in nuclear politics.

Prior to the above position, I was a research associate at the Department of Political & Social Change, School of International, Political & Strategic Studies, College of Asia & the Pacific at the Australian National University in Canberra. I completed my doctoral study in Political Science & International Relations at the Crawford School of Economics & Government in ANU.

Other research:

I am also working on a research paper on the impact of nationalism on international cooperation, entitled ‘Bringing an ideational approach back in: (re)explaining Thai foreign policy in the post-Cold War era’. This project examines the possibility of positive impacts of Thailand's national identity on the promotion of international cooperation. This is to challenge the dominant view in most literature on nationalism in international relations which predicts that nationalism is an obstacle to state cooperation. It also aims to bridge a theoretical-empirical gap in the study of Thai foreign policy that overlooks the development of IR debate on ideational approach in its analysis.

A book manuscript is also being prepared under the title, 'Imagining leadership: Thailand’s foreign policy in the post-Cold War period'.

I am also currently working with Dr Andrew Walker (PSC) on his ARC-funded project, Handbooks and the Environment in Thailand. The project examines Thai manuals/handbooks as a form of knowledge collection and dissemination.

PhD research:

My dissertation discusses Thailand's post-Cold War foreign policy, focusing on the role of ideational factors (self-perception and its derivative regional aspirations) as part of a driving force in Thailand's leadership attempt in Southeast Asia. The period under this study is around the end of 1980s until the Thaksin administration.

It argues that Thailand's self-perception as a major state in mainland Southeast Asia significantly (re)influences its post-Cold War foreign policy. This self-perception has been expressed and translated in the context of its successful integration into the world economy. My dissertation then argues that this ideational factor is not only a political rhetoric but also constitutes an important element in Thailand's post-Cold War foreign policy making. It, in fact, shapes foreign policy preferences regardless of any contextual background at either domestic or systemic level.

This policy preference is mainly expressed in Thailand's aspirations to position itself as a rigorous supporter of sub-regional economic co-operations, particularly, in mainland Southeast Asia. This preference does not only constitute foreign policy behaviour but at the same time is reconstituted by the changing nature of the Thai state in the age of globalisation in which strengthening competition in the world economy has become a vital interest and surpassed security concerns.

Therefore, this proposition of Thai foreign policy as a spearhead of sub-regional co-operation in a way challenges the conventional wisdom in Thai foreign policy studies. This conventional school sees Thai foreign policy as a preservation of a status quo--mainly by accommodating external powers, hence connotes a reactive behaviour.

However, the case studies of the Golden Quadrangle initiative during the Chuan government and the Forward Engagement Strategy during the Thaksin administration, though exhibited different style of administration, clearly point to a similar policy direction. That is, Thailand has attempted to manage regional political and economic order in which it would play a central role. Though not totally refuting its reactive nature, this thesis is thus opening an innovative ground for analysing Thai foreign policy in the post-Cold War era as a movement toward consolidating its pro-action.

Areas of interest:

Asian regionalism, security co-operation, Thai foreign policy and politics, nationalism, ideational & cultural aspects of international relations.

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