PUBLICATIONS: "Building business, human rights and climate change synergies in Southeast Asia: what the Philippines’ National Inquiry on Climate Change could mean for ASEAN".

Publication Date :March 2022

Author: Sara K. Phillips

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://www.elgaronline.com/view/journals/jhre/13/1/article-p238.xml

Abstract

Climate change has a profound impact on economic growth, development and social progress. Climate action, through greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation to current and predicted effects of climate change, has only recently begun to consider the range of human rights implications both of action and inaction when it comes to mitigating climate impacts. While states are the primary duty bearers for the human rights of their citizens, recent examples of climate change litigation offer unique opportunities to consider the role and responsibilities of corporations for their contributions to anthropogenic climate change. The Philippines’ National Inquiry on Climate Change (NICC) offers an innovative approach to understanding the interplay and synergies between business, human rights and climate change, highlighting the increasing importance of these relationships. Building on the NICC’s preliminary findings, this article considers the nexus between business, human rights and climate change in the ASEAN context and reflects on the significance of domestic climate change litigation for regional governance approaches, policymaking and cooperation.

PUBLICATIONS : "Strategic Engagement and Legal Pluralism: Navigating Knowledge and Expertise in Mining Disputes Author".

Publication Date :25 June 2026

Author: Sara K. Phillips

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so08.tcithaijo.org/index.php/ssjpolsci/article/view/5038

Abstract

This article explores how community and civil society actors in mining conflicts strategically engage with legal and technical vocabularies to assert legitimacy, contest exclusion, and influence mining governance. Drawing on an empirical case study of Thailand's Chatree gold mine, the article analyzes how affected groups navigate overlapping normative systems, such as state law, transnational norms, and technocratic discourses, through informal learning and strategic appropriation of expert language. Framed through the conceptual lens of legal pluralism, the study highlights how actors interpret and mobilize diverse normative orders to articulate grievances, shape narratives, and attempt to gain access to decision-making spaces. These engagements unfold across scalar dimensions, from local to international levels, reflecting both selective alignment with, and resistance to, dominant legal and institutional frameworks. By foregrounding norm contestation and plural authority, the article contributes to socio-legal scholarship on resource conflict, illustrating how actors operate in contexts of institutional distrust to advance alternative visions of justice, development, and legitimacy in sites of mineral resource development.

PUBLICATIONS : "From Centralized Development to Local Dissent: Spatial Contestation in Ranong’s Landbridge under Southern Economic Corridor".

Publication Date :19 June 2026

Author: Wipawadee Phanyangnoi

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so05.tcithaijo.org/index.php/polscicmujournal/article/view/282745

Abstract

The Landbridge, positioned as one of Thailand’s flagship infrastructure initiatives, aims to establish a strategic connection between deep-sea ports on the Andaman coast and the Gulf of Thailand through an integrated multimodal transport corridor. Like many national megaprojects, it embodies a centralized development paradigm, resulting in violations of community rights and long-term socio-environmental impacts. Focusing on the Ao Ang (Ranong) – Laem Rio (Chumphon) Landbridge, this article critically examines the policy trajectory, highlighting the predetermined nature of the master plan. The analysis draws on the conceptual frameworks of place-based development to examine how national infrastructure policies generate uneven spatial outcomes at the local level. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative research approach, combining data collection with the observation of everyday political practices to inform and shape the analysis. Through the lens of everyday politics, it illustrates how power is reproduced and contested across scales, from entrenched centralized authority to localized patronage networks. Ranong, a region with an ecologically fragile, resource-based economy, large-scale infrastructure projects contradict the territorial ecology and community potential. Public participation is constrained not only by top-down planning but also by local socio-political structures. The article shows how everyday resistance, through collective mobilization and subtle acts, serves as a strategy to contest imposed development and challenge entrenched power. The study argues that public policy analysis must move beyond centralized decision-making and engage with local dynamics that influence policy outcomes. Achieving spatial justice requires more than policy reform; it demands a fundamental restructuring of political space to allow communities meaningful participation in their own development.

PUBLICATIONS : "Place-based Development as an Alternative to Infrastructure Mega-Projects: A Political Economy Perspective and Everyday Resistance in Ranong Province, Southern Thailand".

Publication Date : 30 December 2025

Author: Wipawadee Phanyangnoi

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/eascramJ/article/view/282550

Abstract

Ranong Province, located in southern Thailand, is endowed with rich and diverse coastal and marine ecosystems, traditional economy reliant on artisanal fisheries, and a service sector rooted in eco-tourism and health-based industries, has been designated as a strategic site for national-scale infrastructure development. However, this top-down spatial designation reflects a development trajectory primarily shaped by macroeconomic imperatives, rather than by ecological, socio-economic, or cultural specificities of the area. Drawing from a political economy perspective, this trajectory reveals how centralized state planning privileges capital accumulation and investment-led growth while marginalizing local needs, knowledge, and livelihoods. Moreover, by incorporating the everyday politics, this paper highlights how local communities experience, contest, and negotiate development interventions in their daily interactions with state institutions and local's sociopolitical context. This paper advocates for a place-based development approach and place-sensitive strategies in shaping sustainable development trajectories for Ranong Province. Such an approach not only acknowledges local socio-ecological contexts but also recognizes the agency of subaltern actors in co-producing more just and equitable futures. The analysis is situated within broader concerns of community rights, spatial equity, and the capacity of local actors to meaningfully participate in defining their own development pathways.

PUBLICATIONS: "Migrant Worker Networks and Roles in Community Development through Resource Transfers".

Publication Date : 13 August 2023

Author: Kamonwan Roengsumran

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://www.journal.nu.ac.th/JCDR/article/view/Vol-16-No-3-2023-97-114

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the roles of migrant worker networks in community development through the transfer of resources in the context of Samut Sakhon province. Despite disagreement over whether resource transfers across the country facilitate or thwart development (see Bartram et al., 2014), this study claims that transactions of money and knowledge, practices, and values—particularly in the destination country— can lead to community development, and that migrant networks can be counted among development actors that engage in the process of transferring resources. This study focuses on the process of resource transfers in the destination country. To understand the roles of migrant worker networks in transferring resources in Samut Sakhon province, online surveys were conducted with 94 participants, in-depth interviews conducted with 6 Mon migrant workers, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 community leaders or individuals working for Mon groups. This study’s findings demonstrate that Mon migrant worker networks are engaged in the process of transferring resources through donations to network members and to Mon self-help group projects promoting Buddhism and providing for basic needs (i.e., education, food security during the COVID-19 pandemic, etc.) and through the provision of education. Furthermore, close ties (family and friends) and organizational ties (Mon self-help groups) are engaged in sharing information, knowledge, perceptions, and experiences within networks. Joining and collaborating with Mon self-help groups and participation in community activities are kinds of an engagement in the process of resource transfers seen in this context. Trust is a significant factor that encourages migrant workers to transfer resources within their networks. Actions of engaging in the process of resource transfers built on trust benefit the community and bring about community development in the destination country, since those actions’ outcomes represent a high level of agency and strengthened solidarity, as following Bhattacharyya’s (1995) community development perspective. Donation for religious-related projects, joining and working for Mon self-help groups and participating in community events/activities lead to strengthened solidarity due to shared interests being strengthened, while donation for promoting education, the provision of education and sharing the perceptions, experiences, knowledge, etc. within the migrant worker networks lead to a high level of agency because of migrant workers’ increasing capability indicated by their better job opportunity and income. However, when creating conditions conducive to community development, a balance between solidarity and agency is necessary.

PUBLICATIONS:"Exploring the Factors Influencing Resource Transfers among Mon Migrant Worker Networks in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand'.

Publication Date : 28 December 2023

Author: Kamonwan Roengsumran

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/sduhs/article/view/274235

Abstract

Resource transactions occur within Mon migrant worker networks through the sharing of different kinds of support. However, the flow of resources can be influenced by a range of factors that promote or impede the capacity of members of migrant networks to transfer resources. This paper examines the factors influencing the process of resource transfers among co-ethnic migrant worker networks in the
context of Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand. This study was conducted from December 2021 to April 2022 in Amphoe Meaung (Samut Sakhon’s capital district), Samut Sakhon Province. Samut Sakhon Province was selected as the study site due to an existence of supportive networks of co-ethnic migrant workers providing financial and social support to their close ties and organizational ties. A large number of Mon migrant workers (see also Baonerd, 2007a: 9; Baonerd, 2007b:5) and many Thai- Mon people with Thai ID cards which embrace shared ethnic identity and characteristics represent the co-ethnic Mon migrant worker networks— the scope of this study. This study applies a mixed- method approach, using the
quantitative research method for finding the frequency of migrant workers’ characteristics and behaviours of resource transfers and the qualitative research methods with interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Through the snowball technique, in- depth interviews were conducted with six Myanmar migrant workers (Mon ethnicity), and semi-structured interviews were conducted with five non-migrant community leaders or employees of Mon groups to gain insights into the factors influencing resource transfers in Samut Sakhon Province. Online surveys were also conducted randomly with a wide range of 94 respondents living in several communities in Samut Sakhon Province to enable validation of qualitative
data collected for this study. Data about factors affecting the transfer of resourceswere collected by using the online survey method. The use of qualitative research methods led to rich data to support these points. This study’s findings demonstrates that factors promoting the flow of resources included social and cultural circumstances (e.g., the COVID- 19 pandemic, collective cultural values), roles and
leadership within the group, socialization, and internet and social media. Factors hindering the flow of resources included the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, and regulations and controlling systems, power relations within co-ethnic migrant networks resulting from migrants’ limited access to resources and opportunities. An acknowledgement about factors promoting and impeding resource transfer can
prevent obstacles of the resource flows, while maintaining and increasing the flow of resources within Mon migrant worker networks in methods that fully benefit migrant workers.

PUBLICATIONS: “Water Ontologies and Hydrosocial Perspective: New Approaches for Understanding Water Controversies of the Ing River Basin, Northern Thailand”.

Publication Date : 24 November 2024

Author: Thianchai Surimas

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so02.tcithaijo.org/index.php/jsbs/article/view/267418

Abstract

This research illustrates, through a hydrosocial perspective, how political contestation between different networks of actors reflects the meanings, values, and water ontologies. This research employs ethnography to study networks of actors involved in controversies over the hydraulic infrastructure project in the Ing River Basin. The network of project proponents, including a state-led hydraulic institution, experts, and other actors, see Water as merely a natural resource for economic development. The proponents reduce water to its materiality and physical dimensions. Water is tied with the idea of ​​development that values ​​large-scale infrastructure, and top-down bureaucratic management embodied scientific knowledge in controlling water, mainly for economic purposes. Meanwhile, project opponents, including civil society organizations, environmental NGOs, and some communities understand water as living. Living water is produced through Thai Baan research, ecological campaigns and ceremonial practices that show rivers as sacred. Living water is socially, environmentally, and culturally embedded and more than a resource for exploitation. This paper argues that water-related conflicts in the Ing River Basin not only reflect how water is managed but are also rooted in such ontological differences. Different networks produced different versions of water. Therefore, understanding water ontologies through a hydrosocial lens could provide a new perspective on water-related conflicts and controversies.

PUBLICATIONS: "Post-Development Values in Alternative Agriculture-Based Community Development: The Case Studies of 3 Alternative Agriculture Communities in Srisaket Province".

Publication Date : 25 December 2024

Author: Thita Orn-in

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so04.tcithaijo.org/index.php/swjournal/article/view/270252

Abstract

In reaction to the global development paradigm, the concept of Pluriverse, as articulated by Escobar (2020), has played a pivotal role in exploring alternatives to development, aiming to foster a world that accommodates multiple worlding[1] with the goals to facilitate various approaches to collective well-being, moving away from anthropocentric, linear growth within the modern capitalist development. This study seeks to understand the underlying values of alternative agriculture-based community development to realize their contribution towards Pluriversal worldings, by examining three communities in Srisaket Province, Northeast of Thailand.

The study involves three distinct cases. Firstly, the Buddhist community of Srisa Asoke engages in natural farming guided by a stringent Buddhist moral code. Secondly, the Taam and People Association, a social movement comprises individuals whose wetland livelihoods are impacted by the Rasi Salai dam. Lastly, Raitong and SCFN Farmers, a social enterprise-oriented organization, that is dedicated to supporting smallholder organic farmers in participating in the global food market while adopting the principles of organic farming and fair-trade global standards.

This paper suggests that within the framework of Pluriversality in community development, practices and initiatives aligned with post-development and reformist values can empower communities to maintain their alternative identities, allowing communities to practically navigate within the mainstream context while holding onto diverse imaginaries. The post-development and reformist values discussed in this paper included for example inclusivity, prosperity and dignity, autonomy and self-reliance, solidarity and reciprocity, common ethics, oneness with nature, simplicity, justice, equity and non-hierarchy, rights, non-violence, the economy of care and gender.

The paper additionally argues that although similar values are found in alternative communities worldwide. The practical nuances of these values from Thailand differ from the Latin American context where Pluriverse was theorized. This article contributes to the making of the Pluriverse body of knowledge in alternative community development.

[1] Worlding: The term ‘worlding’ has emerged in the field of anthropology which defines active engagement of the world as a dynamic and interconnected entity rather than isolated departments. Worlding has an ontological connotation of the world-making process, which means that there maybe ontologically interaction and coexistence of other worlds (or reality). See more in Thinking-Feeling with the Earth (Escobar, 2019)

PUBLICATIONS: "What does the multiverse of practical development look like? A case study of alternative farming communities in northeastern Thailand".

Publication Date : 28 December 2023

Author: Thita Orn-in

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so03.tcithaijo.org/index.php/jla_ubu/article/view/267618

Abstract

The 'Pluriverse' theory challenges the concept of a one-dimensional world for development, making it a popular topic in discussions about development alternatives to create a 'multi-planetary world' that embraces diverse developmental well-being and co-existence, rather than a linear, human-centered economic growth model based on imperialism, capitalism, and modernity. This research aims to bridge empirical data with theory by studying alternative agricultural communities in Sisaket Province, Thailand.

 This research comprises three case studies: Srisaket Asok Village, a village practicing sustainable agriculture based on Buddhist ethical principles; the Khon Tham Association, a group affected by the construction of the Rasi Salai Dam and their struggle to live in the riparian forest, along with a network of agroecology movements; and Rai Thong Organic Farm, a social enterprise working with farmers to enhance the production of organic rice to meet global market standards. The research suggests that these case studies, focusing on alternative agriculture based on ideals and aspirations within the context of Thai agriculture, create friction and lead to assimilation into modernity, represented here by the state, profit, and modern scientific knowledge. This is due to the socio-political and cultural contexts of the case studies. While not necessarily demonstrating extreme transitions, this pluralism represents a path towards the realization of the concept of a Pluriverse, as the clash of complex alternative development discourses leads to a middle ground. This research aims to contribute to increasing knowledge about the pluriverse of development in practice to enhance international debate.

PUBLICATIONS: "Governmentality in the Context of a Japanese-funded Farm-to- Market Road (FMR) in Agdangan, Quezon Province, Philippines".

Publication Date : 2023

Author: Josephine Therese Emily Teves

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

http://publications.tlu.ee/index.php/stss/article/view/1023

Abstract

Recent studies have focused on the role of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in financing infrastructural projects and rural development programmes. This study contributes to this literature by demonstrating how Japanese and Filipino aid authorities facilitate a Japanese-ODA-funded Farm-to-Market Road (FMR) subproject as a solution aiming to achieve overall poverty reduction and rural economic growth in the Philippines. Drawing on Foucault’s governmentality, the paper analyses processes and interactions within the management stages of the FMR subproject. It examines the impact of the completed FMR among agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). It argues that while the FMR fostered mutual understanding and beneficial relationships among aid authorities, more significant advantages were accrued by the non-poor sector. Consequently, ARBs clamour for further support to maximize FMR benefits.

PUBLICATIONS: "The Farm-to-Market (FMR) project in Akdagan Khezon is a two-faced development project".

Publication Date: 28 December 2023

Author: Josephine Therese Emily Teves

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/husocjournal/article/view/254318

Abstract

This study examines how development agencies from the Japanese and Philippine governments support farm-to-market infrastructure projects funded by Official Development Assistance (ODA). These projects aim to reduce poverty, reform agro-systems, and achieve development goals. The study investigates the motivations, roles, relationships, processes, and management of these farm-to-market projects, and analyzes how they address the problems faced by those affected by agro-reform. Framed within Tania Murray Lee's concept of 'development aspiration,' the analysis of project positioning and management processes within the context of neoliberal governmentality reveals areas where the projects have failed to significantly improve overall lives. Data collected from government agencies, online questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups examines the motivations, discourses, thought processes, and techniques employed by both Japanese and Philippine governments. The study concludes that these projects exhibit a dual nature: at a superficial level, they stimulate economic growth, mutual understanding, and reciprocity. However, a deeper analysis reveals that market-oriented practices allow players outside the poor to exploit the situation inappropriately.

PUBLICATIONS: "Sociological Analysis of Subproject Actors' Relations in a Farm-to-Market Road in the Agdangan, Quezon Province, Philippines".

Publication Date: 10 March 2022

Author: Josephine Therese Emily Teves

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4070681

Abstract

This paper maps and analyzes the aid authorities in an Official Development Assistance (ODA) funded Farm-to-Market Road (FMR) subproject in Agdangan, Quezon Province in the Philippines. It uses the concept of Emery & Flora (2020) to analyze the importance of the stock of built-up, political, financial, natural, cultural, human, and social capitals as predictors of aid authorities and other project actors' dynamic relations and explore pathways on which each actor influences decision-making processes during the project management process.

It uses five-month ethnographic research in Agdangan Quezon, which combined study instruments such as government reports, semi-structured interview questions, focus group discussions (FGDs), and a survey among research participants such as Japanese and Filipino aid authorities, academe, and project beneficiaries such as (1) landowners, (2) investors, (3) ordinary citizens, and (4) ARBs from November 2020 to December 2021. It contributes to the discussion of how Japanese and Filipino aid authorities influence domestic decision-making processes within the FMR subproject management processes. The author found that the power is held traditionally by aid authorities, particularly Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Nippon Koei, the Philippine representatives from national government agencies, and local politicians. Other supporting actors, such as landowners and traders, get disproportionate benefits, while Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) are substantially less powerful, receiving fewer benefits.

Thus, the most dominant pathway of aid authorities is through the subproject implementation process, especially on subproject management guidelines and accountability considerations. The power relation imbalance in the FMR subproject management process promotes perpetual dominance of traditionally powerful such as the power elites, landowners, and traders, while ARBs experience further marginalization and disempowerment.

PUBLICATIONS:"Beyond Education: The Livelihood Strategies of Chinese Accompanying Mothers in Thailand".

Publication Date: 30 June 2025

Author: Shan Li

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/papojournal/article/view/289148

Abstract

In the context of globalization, an increasing number of Chinese families choose to send their children to Thailand for international education, forming a unique social group known as “accompanying mothers”. This research specifically investigates how these mothers achieve economic survival through informal activities while navigating legal ambiguity and social barriers. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining an online questionnaire survey (151 participants) and semi-structured interviews (13 participants). The study aims to answer the following question: What informal economic strategies do Chinese accompanying mothers adopt? What legal and social risks do they encounter? How can these challenges be addressed? The study found that accompanying mothers maintain economic independence and realize their self-worth through informal economic activities such as real estate investment, purchasing on behalf of others, private tour guiding, catering businesses, and translation services. However, these activities largely exist in a legal gray area, facing visa restrictions and tax compliance issues, and are mainly confined to the Chinese community, which may lead to social isolation from the local population. This research recommends that the Thai government adjust its policies concerning foreign accompanying families and provide legal pathways for entrepreneurial or investment. At the same time, it is suggested that accompanying families develop a thorough understanding of local laws and regulations and plan sustainable long-term economic models to avoid legal risks and promote social integration. Future research could explore the impact of policy on the economic activities of accompanying mothers, as well as how their legal economic participation can be encouraged through policy optimization and targeted support.

PUBLICATIONS: "Beyond Non-Interference: The Improved ASEAN Humanitarian-assistance Mechanism to Respond to the Myanmar Crisis".

Publication Date: 07 February 2023

Author: Haosheng Duan, Yunkang Liu

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/asi/article/view/254879

Abstract

Since the occurrence of the Myanmar military coup in February 2021, the non-interference principle of the ASEAN Way shows the institutional limitations in dealing with the Myanmar crisis effectively. Simultaneously, some ASEAN scholars suggest that ASEAN may need to improve the regional human-rights mechanism to resolve the crisis by practicing Responsibility to Protect (R2P). Nevertheless, the Myanmar crisis is being trapped in an anarchic political environment, different attitudes of ASEAN and Myanmar toward the crisis not only expanded the conflicts between non-interference and R2P, and resulted in the lack of a synergistic mechanism to cope with this crisis. To solve practical problems, meet the needs of the Myanmar people for humanitarian assistance and alleviate the ripple effects originating from the Myanmar crisis in neighboring countries, this article adopts constructivism of international relations (IR) and the theory of functional synergism to analyze the different attitudes to non-interference and R2P among the region, as well as proposes a strategy of constructing a new synergistic humanitarian-assistance mechanism that beyond the limitations of non-interference to dealing with the Myanmar crisis.

PUBLICATIONS: "The development of intangible cultural heritage and China’s good governance: A case study of Ruili’s Tai pottery".

Publication Date: 24 April 2023

Author: Haosheng Duan

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/hasss/article/view/262269

Abstract

Yunnan’s Tai pottery is one of China's important intangible cultural heritages. Tai pottery has a time-honored history in the region of Tai society worldwide. Noticeably, the Tai potteries and their development have diverse status quo in different Tai societies. However, at present, Tai pottery is encountering the crisis of inheritance in the process of contemporary modernization and globalization. Hence, the protection and development of Tai-pottery intangible cultural heritage (ICH) need the support of good governance. Good governance can coordinate and integrate comprehensive resources from different social sectors. In addition, it can also improve the participation of civil society and empower the vulnerables. However, identifying the distinctions of China’s good governance that differ from the Western definition is necessary before the precise analysis of politics and policies. Therefore, based on the qualitative methodology of empirical analysis, this paper adopted the research methods of documentary analysis and case study to analyze the development of Tai-pottery ICH of Ruili from the perspective of China’s good governance. Eventually, there is a local political policy analysis of Ruili from the perspective of ICH development at the end of this paper. ICH development, such as Tai pottery in Ruili, needs an organic and dynamic integration with China’s good governance and related policies to reach sustainable development.

PUBLICATIONS: "Riparian Community with a Shared Future: Improving Legal Mechanism for Transboundary Water Governance and Conflicts Resolution in the Lancang-Mekong Basin".

Publication Date: 4 June 2023

Author: Haosheng Duan, Yunkang Liu, Zihang Feng , Yumin Hu, and Taixing Li

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://gmsarnjournal.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vol18no3-14.pdf

Abstract

Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) was officially launched at the First LancangMekong Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting held in Hainan Province, China. Water resources cooperation is one of the five priority areas of the LMC framework. It is a critical issue that all riparian countries are commonly encountering. Theoretically, international river governance and cooperation are primarily based on the riparian-states community theory. In practice, it is generally grounded in international conventions, agreements, charters, or customary law. However, the lack of a comprehensive legal mechanism for water resources governance has led to conflicts over water resource allocation and utilization in the transboundary river basin. For the LMC, this is an urgent difficulty to be solved. With the regional powers increasing their involvement in regional development, water issues have gone beyond science to become increasingly politicized. Therefore, this article is mainly based on qualitative analysis methodology to identify the space of improvement of Lancang-Mekong’s water resources cooperation from the legal dimension, proposing legislative recommendations for improving the existing mechanisms and enhancing sustainable development in the region.

PUBLICATIONS: "Inter-Construction Goals: Navigating Thailand’s Digital".

Publication Date: 22 August 2024

Author: Zeng Damei and Duan Haosheng

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://englishkyoto-seas.org/2024/08/vol-13-no-2-zeng-damei-and-duan-haosheng/

Abstract

The digital economy has become a powerful engine for global economic resurgence in the post-pandemic era. As an ASEAN developing country, Thailand greatly values the digital economy, which facilitates its “Thailand 4.0” Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By focusing on digitalization trends in Thailand, this article examines whether new technological trends will have beneficial or detrimental impacts on the socioeconomic flowering of the Global South in the digital age. The “Constructive-Sustainable Development Theoretical Framework” is formulated by combining constructivism and the SDGs for conducting analysis. According to empirical research, bridging the digital divide and reducing poverty need to be Thailand’s top priorities. Therefore, Thai policy instruments should promote equal distribution of socioeconomic resources and close the digital divide, accelerate digital talent cultivation to fill the talent gap, build partnership networks that support transnational governance in cyberspace, promote third-party market cooperation, and share the reciprocal profits of development.

PUBLICATIONS: "Leadership of Internationalisation at a Higher Education Institution in Thailand: Voices from Within".

Publication Date: 24 June 2025

Authors: Gwyn Peredur Evans

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/swjournal/article/view/269418

Abstract

This study examines perceptions of the leadership of the internationalisation of one public higher education institution in Thailand. Based on documentary research and data from semi-structured interviews with senior leaders, lecturers and staff involved in 3 undergraduate international programmes (IP), it presents an analysis of the leadership dimensions which influence the progress of the internationalisation of higher education (IHE) of the institution in question. It situates the study within the dense global literature which addresses the strategies and factors considered crucial to effective IHE leadership, while addressing the unique local and cultural context of such an institution in Thailand. It concludes that while significant progress has been made in IHE by the institution in question, leaders should consider introducing greater clarity, inclusivity, and integration so that employees feel empowered and motivated to contribute towards, and ‘own’, the expansion of the internationalisation agenda. The study also determines that the dimension of ‘situation’ is paramount in terms of how leadership functions, and that bureaucracy, in particular, strongly influences leadership trends and models within the institution.

PUBLICATIONS: "A Critical Analysis of the Literature on the Internationalisation of Thai Higher Education: A Call for a Counter-Narrative".

Publication Date: 25 December 2024

Authors: Gwyn Peredur Evans

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/swjournal/article/view/269318

Abstract

This article examines literature related to the internationalisation of higher education (IHE) in Thailand. Through analysis of 38 publications on IHE in Thailand, the scope of literature is explored in order to determine how it frames the imperatives and narratives of IHE development, and to what extent neoliberal interpretations as drivers of Thai IHE explain practices and realities at the institutional level. The author puts forward the contextually and socially driven definition and concept of IHE by Williams et al. (2021) to both frame and recommend an alternative approach to the study of IHE as a phenomenon experienced and largely created by local institutions and actors. The article concludes that such an approach would provide a distinctive voice to the real and lived experiences of leaders and practitioners in higher education institutions in Thailand, and a counter-narrative to the dominant neoliberal assumptions of the global literature.

PUBLICATIONS:"Temporary Labor Migration from Sri Lanka to Gulf Cooperation Countries: Analyzing Labor Trafficking Amidst the Financial Crisis".

Publication Date: 08 October 2024

Authors: Niruka Sanjeewani

For further details on the article, visit the journal at

https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/IARJ/article/view/277209

Abstract

Background and Aims: The financial crisis in Sri Lanka (SL) has marked a significant growth in temporary labor migration to Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC). Temporary labor migration refers to migration from one state to another in pursuit of employment opportunities for a temporary period. The National Policy on Migration for Employment (NPME) and the National Action Plan of SL asserted the importance of developing labor migration policies in response to the country’s severe need for remittances during the financial crisis. A financial crisis occurs when a country's expenditure exceeds its national income, resulting in a shortage of goods and services for its citizens. Along with this understanding, this paper examines how the temporary labor migration from SL to GCC has developed in response to the financial crisis in the country. It argues that reforming labor migration policies solely based on remittance does not appear to be adequate to protect migrants from trafficking. In this setting, the key research question is how labor trafficking has risen amidst the financial crisis in SL.

Methodology: In this study, Delphi indicators have been utilized to identify the demarcations of labor trafficking. The data was collected from thirty interviews conducted with family members of labor migrants who migrated to GCC in 2022.

Results: The results indicate that shortcomings in the governance of labor migration during the financial crisis in SL have led to an increase in labor trafficking.

Conclusion: The paper concludes with the discursive, implementation, and efficacy gaps in the governance of labor migration and suggests a right-based framework to guarantee equitable recruitment procedures