Understanding Thailand's Political Crisis: back to the future?

Lecture by Professor Duncan McCargo (University of Leeds) and cello concert by Stephanie Winters.

The lecture
In light of Thailand’s latest coup on 22 May 2014, Duncan McCargo will discuss how a country that was once considered a beacon of democracy in the region has experienced two military power seizures in the past eight years, and seems on course to reverse a hard-won political transition to more open politics. What are the key forces that have reshaped Thailand’s political landscape in recent years? And what are the possible scenarios for the country’s future?

The speaker
Duncan McCargo is Professor of Political Science at the University of Leeds, a senior research affiliate at Columbia University, and an associate fellow at Chatham House. His ten books include Politics and the Press in Thailand (Routledge 2000), Media and Politics in Pacific Asia (Routledge 2003), The Thaksinization of Thailand (co-authored NIAS 2005), Tearing Apart the Land: Islam and Legitimacy in Southern Thailand (Cornell 2008) (which won the inaugural 2009 Bernard Schwartz Book Prize from the Asia Society), and most recently Mapping National Anxieties: Thailand's Southern Conflict (NIAS 2012).

Listen Differently: A Concert-Talk with Cellist Stephanie Winters

The concert
Our ability to Listen Differently™ and create meaningful connections - with students, colleagues, partners, and even strangers - impacts success in all realms of life. We have all experienced moments of deep and magical connection - but can we create such moments at will, and more importantly, can they be sustained? Can music help us to cultivate new ways of listening? Speaker and cellist Stephanie Winters explores how we listen through her live performance of a variety of music including excerpts from one of the most familiar yet magnificent pieces of music ever written for the cello - the Bach first cello suite.

The musician
Stephanie Winters is a New York-based cellist with a wide-ranging career as a concert-keynote speaker, workshop facilitator and performing artist. She has toured extensively in North America, and South-East Asia, and her credits range from the TV show Saturday Night Live to a peace conference in Southern Thailand. She has been a visiting artist at universities in the US, UK, Malaysia and Thailand. www.stephaniewinters.com

Drinks after lecture and concert.

Registration: Heleen van der Minne (h.m.van.der.minne@iias.nl)

Inline photo © Inmediahk