Reports
Discussion Papers
No.405 Research Review: Searching for a New Framework for Thailand’s Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era
March 2013
ABSTRACT
Thai
foreign
policy
in
the
1990s
has
been
said
to
be
contingent
on
the
government
in
power,
which
changes
between
(or
within)
these
groups
and
vacillates
between
pro-democratic
reformists/principle-pursuers
and
the
conservatives/profit-seekers.
In
these
studies,
Thailand’s
Indochinese
policy
has
often
been
referred
to
as
a
typical
consequence
of
politics
between
the
pragmatists
and
the
reformists.
However,
whether
or
not
domestic
oppositional
politics
is
the
key
determinant
of
foreign
policy
in
the
post-Cold
War
era
still
requires
further
examination,
precisely
because
the
model
is
now
facing
serious
challenges
between
theory
and
reality.
In
this
paper,
I
review
the
existing
arguments
concerning
Thailand’s
foreign
policy
in
the
post-Cold
War
Era
and
point
out
their
limitations
and
questions
for
future
study.
Keywords:
Thailand,
democratization,
foreign
policy,
globalization
JEL
classification:
H1,
N45
Please note that discussion papers are works in various stages of progress and most have not been edited and proofread and may contain errors of fact or judgment. Revised versions of these papers may subsequently appear in more formal publication series. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). The IDE does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included and accepts no responsibility for any consequences arising from its use.