A Price to Pay? How autocratization in Thailand drives anti-establishment protests

Not only did Thailand belong to the 3rd wave of democratisation after the 1992 democratic openings, the country is also a part of an emerging trend of the 3rd wave autocratisation as it underwent two major episodes of democratic breakdown since 2006. Against the odds, Thailand’s pro-democracy movements are currently gathering forces to counter the entrenchment of autocratic elites and institutions. In this talk, I give an overview of how this process unravels, arguing that autocratisation paradoxically creates conditions that foster and sustain a democratic struggle.