Women and Politics in Thailand: Continuity and Change

edited by Kazuki Iwanaga

This edited volume, including contributions from some of the leading scholars in the field, addresses the challenges, obstacles and opportunities for increased women’s political representation in Thailand.

Will Thai politics be different with an increase in the number of women politicians? What are the possibilities for Thai women to take proactive initiatives that aim to transform Thai politics into being more gender aware and equal? In seeking to address these and related issues, the analysis brings together a complex interplay of factors, such as traditional Thai views of gender and politics; the national and local political context of the new Thai constitution of 1997; and recent experiences of selected women politicians in the legislative and executive branches of Thai government.

"Women and Politics in Thailand grants the reader a multifaceted insight into the subject. The status quo of women’s involvement in political decision-making and political activities is documented in detail along with the cultural and institutional obstacles to gender equality. The contributions differ considerably .... Nevertheless, Kazuki Iwanaga and his colleagues have identified an important aspect of Thai political development that had previously received little scholarly attention. Their own volume helps to fill this gap. It will certainly stimulate further research in this area." – Lydia Seibel, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 29, 1/2010

Prior to his retirement, Kazuki Iwanaga was a political scientist at Halmstad University, Sweden, specialising in the study of gender and politics in Asia.

Publication year: 2008
300 pp / 228mm x 152mm
3 figures, 38 tables
ISBN: 978-87-91114-35-9, Paperback
ISBN: 978-87-91114-34-2, Hardback

NIAS Press