Tamara Loos is a professor of history and Thai studies at Cornell University. While a repressive human rights climate and an underperforming economy have catalyzed sentiment against Prayut; Loos says a growing dissatisfaction with the country’s conservative monarchy is what really makes this election significant.

International

Foreign Policy

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Tamara Loos, professor of history and Thai studies at Cornell University, says the events of this week indicate that Thailand has reached a tipping point, with widespread protests necessitating a response from the regime and monarchy.

International

Law and Policy

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Protests continued in Thailand on Friday after parliament failed to reach an agreement on possible constitutional reforms. Demonstrators have been taking to the streets since July in an effort to pressure parliament to limit the powers of the country’s monarchy. Tamara Loos, professor of history and Thai studies at Cornell University, says that the rallies highlight how Thai society has changed its approach to politics, and the monarchy. 

International

Arts and Sciences

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Protesters in Thailand are accelerating their campaigns against the government by planning a rally in front of a key agency building on Wednesday. Tamara Loos professor of history and Thai studies at Cornell University, says that by picking this specific location protesters want to strike a blow to the financial basis for the king’s power and wealth.

International

Arts and Sciences

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Tamara Loos, professor of history and Thai studies at Cornell University, says that the Thai king’s treatment of Sineenat, his royal consort, represents one of the many reasons why protestors in Thailand have targeted the monarchy for reform.

International

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Tamara Loos, professor of history and Thai studies at Cornell University, says that Thai protests are ground-breaking in that demonstrators are demanding a “new moral compact” with the monarchy – an institution that has historically been legally protected from criticism.

Law and Policy

International

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On Monday, Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn stripped his royal consort – Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi – of her official ranks for “repeated disobedience and attempts to of interference with royal affairs.” The palace order comes three months after Sineenat – rumored to be the king’s longtime mistress – was given the official title of royal consort. Tamara Loos, professor of history and Thai studies at Cornell University, says the move is a sign of the King’s newfound absolutism.

International

Arts and Sciences

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