The WACMB World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Tuesday July 2nd at 4:00 pm by Zoom. The discussion topic will be Thailand’s Polarized Politics: Entrenched Elite & Implications for U.S. Policy, based on the WACMB luncheon lecture of June 28 by James Stent.
Over recent decades, the popular aspirations in Thailand for a fully democratic and more just society have run up against entrenched resistance and repression from an elite determined to defend its political control and economic privileges. Polarization between the contending forces has steadily increased. In his talk, Jim Stent describes the underlying cultural and historical issues leading to polarization and outlines the issues at stake today between the contending forces. His presentation includes a discussion of how this domestic political drama conditions the geostrategic rivalry in Southeast Asia between China and the United States, and what the U.S. needs to do to retain the good will of Thailand, a major non-NATO ally.
If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.org to receive log-in information and related study materials.
Come join the conversation!